Changes in Time
by KaiyaJones
Summary: Oriana Hammond is the eighteen year old granddaughter of General Hammond who has been Orphaned twice. Follow her adventures as they intertwine with SG-1 and while her mysterious past begins to unfold.
1. Children of the Gods 1 & 2

Changes in Time

Children of the Gods

AN: Hey everyone! So this is my first attempt at a massive fanfiction and this will be massive because I will be covering all 10 seasons of Stargate as well as massive portions of Atlantis and some of my source material comes from my best friend who is my sounding board. I will be attempting to maintain the ratings appropriate for each episode. That being said this first chapter will be rated M, but basically unless stated otherwise will be rated T to be safe because Oriana (the main character) is 18 and tends to let her mouth get away with her. This is a crossover which will not be fully explained for a while, but it will be hinted at if you pay close enough attention. If you figure out why private it to me because that won't spoil it for the slow pokes.

***X*X***

Oriana giggled as she saw the men and single woman gathered around the card table. "If there isn't a seat left for me I won't be very happy!" She crossed her arms and pretended to pout.

"Oh man, this hand's as lousy as this detail. Alright, everybody, ante up." Said the semi-cute dealer as he looked at Oriana smirking and motioned for the guys to move over and open up a spot for her. "That's the both of you as well." He added chuckling dealing the cards as everyone but Oriana anted in. "You're not in?"

"Not 21." Oriana added sarcastically, "Unless of course you'd like to explain to grandpa why he's eighteen year old favorite granddaughter is gambling illegally in a top secret facility with you lot." She said trying to pull out a twenty.

The dealer ignores the comment about her age and passes her by while calling out the other hands, "Seven to the deuce, nothing there. Boss and the eight, nothing happening. Queen to the king, possible straight going there. Eight on the eight, and the jack gets a boss. Eights open."

Oriana watched the dealer and made a face which brought to light her age. "If the detail is so horrible then don't play cards with us and go back to your watch so it'll be over before you know it."

"Aren't you guys afraid of an officer coming down here or something?" The not-so-pretty blond woman asked.

"Trust me, nobody ever comes down here but us."

"Besides, my name _is_ Oriana Hammond. That makes me an insurance policy." Oriana said shrugging. "If grandpa thought this was dangerous I wouldn't be allowed within ten miles of here let alone hanging out with people under his command." She watched the woman and rolled her eyes, "Whose idea was it to bring the new chick? And if she reports this imma let it fall on ya'll."

"Does it always do that?" The annoying woman who wouldn't stop drawing attention to herself continued.

"You're paying too much damn attention to a moot point. Just drop it and play the damn game." Oriana was losing her patience with the attention seeker.

"Whatever is under that tarp, I just…it just move or something." The woman added exasperated.

"Probably the only thing it ever did was cost money. But it looks like they even ran out of that. They've been shipping people out of her for months. It's the only reason little Ori has the run of the place."

"I'm telling you, the thing is moving!"

"And we're telling you that's impossible. If you don't have the straight just fold and stop with the bs. I have to leave soon or grandpa will get suspicious and if we get caught I won't save anyone's ass that is denying me a good time."

The woman rolled her eyes at the little girl and moved her way towards the covered object.

"Can we take that as a fold?" the semi-cute dealer asked agitated.

"Just finish the hand. She got up from the table and she's making everyone miserable. She's out. And next time you think it's funny to bring someone new you'll know better." Oriana growled throwing in the woman's hand frustrated at the situation.

"Guys, I'm serious." The even more annoying women stated again.

Oriana made faces to the group at the table mimicking her.

The area around the covered object began to rumble, the woman panicked and began to back away. Each of the military personal went for their weapon and surround Oriana out of instinct to protect the civilian. "Has this never happened before?" the panicing woman asked as the tarp fell to the ground revealing the beautifully engraved circle.

"It's beautiful." Oriana whispered weaving through the protective circle the older men had created around her as the beautiful waterfall disappeared back into the water. She moved closer and up the ramp almost touching the impossibly wavy water. "How?"

"What are you doing?" The semi-cute but protective dealer asked as the attention seeking woman moved closer to the object and stood next to Oriana.

"I'm observing an unnatural phenomenon. Do you have a problem with that?" Oriana reached the top of the ramp and reached out to touch the water, but a strange orb fell from it and landed at her feet distracting her. "Curious and Curiouser. Like Alice in Through the Looking Glass." Oriana bends down after it scans her and the now annoyingly protective woman and pushes her aside so that she might pick it up instead of G.I Jane.

"What are you doing?"

"Will you shut up, please? I told you. I never get to have any fun." Oriana glared back at the group of testosterone filled protectors.

"Seriously, don't touch that you aren't qualify—"

Oriana ignored the mans uneducated comment and continued to examine the ball oblivious to the two snake looking guards coming through the 'looking glass'. Oriana stops and lets out a small yelp as she feels the cold arms wrap around her neck.

"Jaffa! Kree!" The gold figure shouts causing the guard holding Oriana to reveal his face. "Teal'c, Kree!" Teal'c studies the gun that was taken from the annoying female, drops it and roughly passes Oriana to only golden snake looking guy.

Oriana struggles and tries to fight against her captor to free herself, "Let me go." She continues to struggle until a golden light shines in her face and everything goes blank.

"Let her go!"

Oriana stands motionless as the whizzing of lasers and gunfire passes her by practically unnoticed as the older military men fall like toy soldiers. One by One all the while she is protected by the fierce unknown assumed enemy and pawns in a game of chess.

"Hold your fire!" The words of her grandfather echoed through what Oriana had thought a storage room and brought her partially to herself. She locked eyes with him in fear as she felt herself being dragged back through the impossible looking glass.

***X*X***

Oriana looked around the room uncomfortably. The people around her like a herd of cattle for the slaughter. They eyed her and the woman whose name she had yet to learn as if they were alien and she assumed that in this state of dress it made sense. She was awkward and huddled nervously in the corner. "What's your name?" she asked quietly.

"Viviana" She said quietly observing the frightened child.

"I'm sorry, about earlier. I didn't mean to—"

"No, you did. I'm used to it. When you get dropped off in a top secret facility because of a fuck up you're used to being misunderstood. How did you end up there anyway? Surely your parents wouldn't allow you to wander off with your grandpa to a top secret facility."

"I'm adopted. Dad's dead. Never had a mother and I don't know anything about my life before my sixteenth birthday. Grandpa Hammond was the only one who could take me in and the government was quick to approve my security clearance, who knows why, so there I was bored and needing to be entertained. Found a couple of guys screwing around told them to set up a card game. I never realized this would happen. I read the security reports when no one was looking, but who would have thought it was like Area 51. I thought it was a prank." Oriana rambled on because of her nerves and was again oblivious to her surroundings until she was grabbed by her arm and dragged unceremoniously towards to entrance.

Oriana watched as Viviana was dragged in one direction and her in another. The men dropped her in a bath and walked out the door when she was swarmed by woman who began pulling at her jeans and button down shirt. "Stop!" She whimpered trying to pull away from them backing into the wall of the massive tub. "I can wash myself." She continued to try to cover herself wishing for once that she wasn't so shy about her budding sexuality.

"We will wash you. You will be cleansed." The repeated as they began to pull down her hair and wash it vigorously. "Please, do not struggle or they will kill you." A smaller voice said emerging from the shadowy corner pulling down Oriana's shirt and finishing up undressing her kindly.

Oriana stopped struggling out of fear and allowed the women to primp her in the way they found acceptable. When all was said and done she was wearing a haram outfit that reminded her of Aladdin. Her hair was pulled straight and a beaded headband was carefully placed in her hair. When the attendants went to remove her necklace Oriana gripped at the woman's hand. "Please, not this." The tears in her eyes were enough for the woman to feel pity on the woman child.

"We will allow you to keep it, but you must obey what the others command of you or they will not be so kind." The older woman said as she pushed her gently into the Haram where she found Viviana huddled alone in the corner. "Go to your friend. She was behaved you will learn from her."

Oriana wanted to glare at the woman, but was to grateful to be allowed her necklace that she said nothing and carefully huddled next to Viviana realizing that her age was becoming more apparent. In her state of dress she looked like a woman child that was no older then fifteen and that bothered her, but at the same time wondered if it would save her in the end. All of these woman looked like they were to be made wives or other unmentionable things, but she looked innocent and untouchable. Like an angel. "I'm scared."

"You are a child. They are more likely to avoid corrupting innocence. At least that is my hope. If you behave perhaps we will go unnoticed. Until help can arrive." Viviana said watching her and hugging the girl. "You need to be calm. Everything will be fine and I'm sure that your grandfather already ha—" Viviana stoped talking when she noticed Teal'c and other guards enter with him causing the room to go silent.

Teal'c looks around and watches Viviana holding the girl that interested his master, but choose the blond over the innocent looking child. "You!" The guards pull Viviana away from the screaming Oriana. "Leave her alone!" She cries out as the woman hold her back.

"Where are you taking me? I'm a sergeant in the U.S. Air Force. I demand to know where you're taking me! Let go!" Viviana fought and shouted as they pulled her from the haram leaving Oriana alone in the corner surrounded by the older woman who began mothering her.

"Don't touch me." She pronounced each word as she pulled away from the women retreating further and further into the dark corners of the haram.

"Did that woman say Air force? Like from Earth like my Daniel?" A beautiful woman with dark curly hair asked as she sat down next to Oriana.

"I am from Earth, but I don't know a Daniel?" Oriana said sadly clutching her knees to her chest.

"I am Sha're. You can trust me." She hugged the girl close petting the young girl's hair. "I have a brother about your age, you are very young. We can hope that he doesn't think to pick you." She sang softly to the girl.

"Is this what having a mother is like?" she asked. The feeling of rocking a child or being rocked seemed familiar to her even if she had no memories of the event.

"Don't you have a mother?" Sha're asked looking at the girl with pity.

"I have been orphaned twice." Oriana said sadly holding the locket in her hands. "This is all I have of the life before my father adopted me. I don't have much from that life left since the fire." She nibbled on her lip only to feel Sha're lightly hit her leg.

"You do not bite on your lip like that. It is unattractive and not fit for a young woman. We may be stuck her, but that is no reason to become uncivilized. You will be a proper and fine young woman like the woman O'Neill and my Daniel spoke of from earth." Sha're held the girl close as she whispered to her.

***X*X***

"Colonel I'd like to remind you that rescuing Doctor Daniel's wife is a secondary objective. In the even you fail to notify base camp within 24 hours, SG-2 will scrub the mission and return without you." Samuals continued as kept pace with Colonel O'Neill and his team down the corridors.

"Understood." O'Neill said looking over at the rest of his team noticing Hammond from the corner of his eye, "General?"

"A word, O'Neill, in private." Hammond motioned for the others to continue to the gate room as O'Neill stepped to the side to speak with him. "I'm aware that Samuals is reminding you that Doctor Jackson's wife is second priority, but there is another matter I'd like to discuss with you that is of the upmost importance," he paused looking around, "To me."

"Sir?"

"My granddaughter was one of the two hostages taken through the gate. She's all that I have left of my son. I know you have only twenty four hours and she shouldn't be priority, but as a grandfather I feel the need to ask you from one father to another to help me." Hammond said seriously his eyes conveying an emotion that he was trying to contain. "This was supposed to be a cake command. She's only eighteen years old with about as much security clearance as yourself. She's a vital part of history and for now that's all you need to know. Bring her back Colonel" Hammond looked at the man and motioned for his dismissal.

"I understand, sir. We'll find her and bring her home in one piece." O'Neill saluted as he went back and joined the rest of his team in the gate room.

"SG-1, SG-2, if you do not return in 24 hours your remote transmitter codes will be locked out, and the iris will be sealed permanently. At that point there will be no return. Is that understood?" Hammond's voice echoed through the gate room, but his eyes were fixed on Jack O'Neill.

***X*X***

Oriana sniffled as she woke up cuddled next to the woman who had taken to protecting her. "Sha're? They're back." She whimpered holding onto the woman scared. "Don't let them take you." Oriana was reverting to her childhood.

Teal'c looked around the room and his focus fell back on the little one. "You." He said pointing to Sha're.

"No!" Oriana cried as the guards started pulling apart.

"Take the child back with the others. She should never have been brought here." Teal'c said stiffly pushing Oriana back into the arms of one the guards. The guards nodded and pulled Oriana in another direction depositing her with the others.

"No! Sha're! Leave her alone! Take me!" Oriana screamed as the doors slammed locking her with the others.

"Sha're? You know my sister?" a boy with long messy black hair asked.

Oriana looked around and held her knees to her chest. "She was helping me and they took her. They kept saying I looked like a woman child and brought me back here. She was so nice to me. She told me about you. Said you were brave like her Daniel and a man named O'Neil." She sat and listened as everyone crowed around her. "Why was I taken there? If I was too young?"

"To be chosen, but they took pity on your age and brought you here. O'Neil would know how to escape." The boy said softly, "I'm Skaara." He hugged the girl. "I'll protect you."

Oriana nodded and hid behind him as the door opened again this time people were brought in. "Are they here to take more of us. No one's come back."

"Stay behind me." Skaara said as he moved around realizing that he recognized the voices. "O'Neil! Daniel!"

O'Neill turned around and saw the boy and sighed in relief. "Skaara, have you stayed out of trouble? Do you know what happened to Sha're?" O'Neill asked as if tip-toeing around the subject.

"She was taken with this girl, but they brought her back calling her a woman-child. She is from earth I think. She came with the blond they took with her." Skaara said motioning to Oriana that it was safe. "They are friends."

"Friends? How are you supposed to save us if you're trapped here as well?" Oriana asked a bit of her nerve surfacing through her fear.

"What's your name?" O'Neill asked looking at the girl carefully.

"Oriana Hammond, who are you?" Oriana looked the man up and down the uniform was familiar, so familiar that she wanted to hug him and beg him to take her home, but she wasn't going to assume anything not when everything felt so foreign around her.

"Thank the Gods. I'm Jack O'Neill and I'm here to save you, among other things, but your grandfather was sure to mention that you were to be my unofficial main priority." Jack said releavd.

"No offense, but unless you have a brilliant plan of escape the two people who have tried to help me have disappeared. Viviana included and I don't think she's coming back the way that man looked at me with pity makes me think I'm alone, or the last." Oriana rambled on clinging to Skaara as Daniel began to wake.

"Well if there's way out of here I haven't found it yet. But look what I did find." Jack motioned for Skaara and Oriana to come into Daniel's field of vision.

"Daniel you're okay!" Skaara smiled as if trying to hide something from Oriana.

"I think so." Daniel said groaning as Skaara hugged him tight.

"Easy big guy. Welcome back to the land of the conscious. This is Oriana Hammond; apparently the little miss doesn't know the meaning of off-limits." Jack said trying to lift the mood as Skaara looked sadly at Daniel.

"O'Neill told me about Sha're." Skaara said cryptically.

"What about Sha're? What are you hiding from me?"

"Don't worry about it, kid." Jack said seriously more focused on Daniel.

"Jack, help me. We can find her again"

"Daniel…don't. If we can't find our way out of here, the mission's a bust anyway. They seal the 'gate in just over 90 minutes. C'mon, Skaara, let's find a way out of here." Jack motioned for the only woman in the group of Soldiers to take care of Oriana.

Oriana cringes as she see'sa guard approaching them and cowers back as he grips Jack's arm, "What is this?" The guard asks still hiding behind his serpent mask.

"A watch?" Jack says in discomfort watching the alien uncomfortably.

The alien reveals his face to be Teal'c. "This is not Goa'uld technology. Where are you from?"

"Earth. Chicago if you want to be more specific." Jack says seriously watching the man curiously.

"You're words mean nothing. Where are you from?" Teal'c continues to ask as if they were avoiding his question by twisting their words.

"Uh, excuse me," Daniel interrupts drawing the symbol for earth in the sand. "This is where we are from."

Teal'c scrapes a line through the symbol and walks away from the group.

"We need to find a way out of here and have less than 90 minutes to do so, Daniel. Start thinking and thinking fast, because we cannot stay here."

***X*X***

"So Ra isn't dead after all?" The woman asked as Jack tested yet another set of bars.

"No, it wasn't Ra. It was Apophis." Daniel said watching Oriana from the corner of his eye. "She's awful young to be part of the Star Gate Program don't you think Carter?"

"I heard about her once. She's got brains, top scores in everything, but after her father died in the fire she just locked herself away with her grandfather. I assume she's spent the time exploring the home base. Military tried recruiting her a few time, but she's always denied them. She always said something about not wanting her grandpa to be her superior." Carter said watching the girl. "Who?"

"Um, it's from Egyptian mythology. Ra was the sun god who ruled the day. Apophis was the serpent guard, Ra's rival who ruled the night. It's right out of _The Book of the Dead_. They're living it." Daniel sighed as Jack moved away from the windows and watched as he moved around with Skaara. "Oriana will never forget the things that have happened here and I'm starting to wonder if Skaara will ever forgive himself for Sha're being taken." Daniel added as he moved closer to the group when the doors began to open.

"Shaka ha! Kree hol mel, Goa'uld!" Teal'c said followed by a royal box.

"What'd he say?" Jack asked pulling everyone into a tight knit group ready to do what they could to protect those around them.

"They're going to choose." Skaara said eyeing Oriana and the box in front of them.

"Choose what?" Carter asked.

"Who will be the children of the gods." Skaara said as he watched Apophis emerge from the beautifully decorated box.

"Jaffa!" Apophis called as he helped his queen, Sha're, from the same decorated box.

"Sha're. Jack, help me please." Daniel begged as he saw his wife decorated as a queen acting like a doting queen to man who was not physically her husband. He lunges forward, but Carter and Jack pull him back trying to calm him.

"Daniel, don't. Don't." Jack begs quietly trying to protect the scientist from himself.

Teal'c speaks again, "Benna! Ya wan, ya daru! Kneel before your masters!" he looks around as the rest of the guards move to force the others to kneel and tells them with his eyes.

Jack understands and kneels, but realizes that Skaara has not. "Skaara," He says in a tone that he would have used on his son. Skaara looks at Jack and kneels for Jack's sake.

Teal'c calls out again, "Benna, ya wan ya daru! Choose!" And watches as prisioners are helplessly pushed around and choosen from. Watching as a couple approaches the team from earth.

Daniel lunges and takes hold of one of the couples arms while the guards hold Jack and Carter back from interfearing.

"This one is passionate." The couple says amused by Daniel's reaction.

"How much would I remember if you chose me?"

"Daniel, what are you doing?" Jack asked watching the guards nervously.

"Something of the host must survive." Daniel begs clinging to that small hope that some part of Sha're might still be alive.

Jack notices Teal'c shaking his head negatively and his heart breaks along with Daniels.

"We choose him." The Goa'uld points to Skaara as the guards grab him and begin to drag him away..

"No!" Oriana reacts violently trying to fight for her hold on her friend. "Leave him alone!" She cries out attracting the attention of all the guards.

"O'Neill!" Skaara cries out as they continued to drag him away from his brother in law and friends.

Jack tries to fight to get a hold on Skaara but the guards hit him in the nose and his is pushed back out of reach to listen to Skaara calling for him over and over again.

"Kill the rest!" Apophis' voice echoed through the room causing panic and disarray.

"I can save this people! Help me! Help me!" Jack screamed making eye contact with Teal'c.

"Many have said that." Teal'c said firing on his own people before thowing Jack a weapon of his own, "But you are the first I believe could do it!" He nods and begins to help Jack protect the other prisoners.

"Get out of the way!" Jack screams as he points the Jaffa weapon at the wall and fires it creating an opening for everyone to escape from. "Alright, let's move!" He motions for everyone to move to the opening allowing carter to help him get everyone out safly. "Come on Oriana."

Oriana stares at Jack for a moment and back to where Skaara had been dragged. "They were my friends. I can't…"

"You can and you will. Your grandfather tasked me in bringing you home and that's what I'm going to do. Don't make me carry you like a baby. You are eighteen years old and on our planet that's barely legal, but legal all the same. That means you need to buck up and act like a grown up right now no matter how scared you are." Jack said shepherding Oriana to the opening.

Oriana observes Jack from the opening confused, but understanding of the man's reaction.

"Are you going to be okay?" Jack asks Daniel as he's moving through the opening.

Daniel pauses nods and motions for Oriana to move along with him.

"Hey, c'mon!" Jack says to Teal'c as he stands there not knowing what to do with himself.

"I have nowhere to go." Teal'c says as he looks at his fallen brethren. Jaffa that he helped slay jumbled in a mess of prisoners.

"For this you can stay at my place. Let's go!" Jack says lightening the mood slightly.

Teal'c pauses for a moment, but decides that he believes the man.

"what's your name?" Jack asks as they reach the outdoors and begin to breath freshair.

"Teal'c"

"Teal'c, where will they take Skaara?" Jack asks hopeful.

"To the Stargate, after they've selected hosts for their children they will return home." Teal'c says firmly unphased by the situation because of the many times he has seen it happen.

***X*X***

"We've got less than an hour, how we doing?" Jack asked looking around the area.

"We lost a few when we got to the forest. Miss over here is great with the kids, but it's not easy keeping a big group like this safe out in the open, Sir." Carter said pointing to Oriana who was trying to pay as much attention to what was being said about her as well as the situation around her.

Teal'c looked sad and unsure of his position as he spoke, "They will be hunted down and killed. Anyone who does not exist to serve the gods is their enemy."

"and that makes you…" O'Neill asked watching his new team mate.

"I am a Jaffa. Bred to serve, that they may live." Teal'c said as if he'd been rehearsing the line all of his life.

"I don't understand?" Daniel said looking at the Alien curiously.

Teal'c stops and reveals his pouch and the small snake like creature slithers a bit from his stomach. The prisoners screaming cause him to cover himself again.

"What the hell is that?" O'Neill asks semi-grossed out by what he's just witnessed.

"It is an infant Goa'uld, the larval form of the gods, I have carried one since I was a child, as all Jaffa carry one." Teal'c said as the continued to walk.

"Get it out of there." O'Neill says still grossed out by the larva growing in his new allies stomach.

"In exchange for carrying the infant Goa'uld until maturity, a Jaffa receives perfect health and long life. If I were to remove it, I would eventually die." Teal'c adds aware that for an outsider this would be more of a shock then for someone bred to do only this.

"Yeah, well if I were you, I'd take my chances." O'Neill said dropping the subject. He knew how things worked on Earth and had no intention of forcing the issue at the present moment if ever. They owed this man their lives.

"It is his own choice, Jack O'Neill and you will not deprive him of that. If it will cost him his life what right do any of us have to tell him what to do with it. Thank you, Teal'c for saving me from the haram. I was frightened that I might be next." Oriana felt safest next to the alien and continued to stand next to him as they walked to the beautifully engraved circle she had yet to learn much about.

"You were little one, but you are much too young to be chosen as the queen for Apophis I would not allow it." Teal'c said still standing stiffly in a makeshift military march.

"Tell me about that beautiful circle? The one with the water it in?" She said hoping that one of them would give a little more then they should.

"It's the Chapaa'ai. The gate way of the Gods." Teal'c said.

Jack held his hand up, "She's not briefed in the subject and is not to be asking questions her grandfather doesn't want her knowing the answers to. All you need to know, nosy, is that you go through the event horizon freeze your little butt off and go to college when we get back." He pointed for Oriana to move ahead of the group. "She doesn't need to know anything that might make it difficult for her to live her life away from this detail, understood?" He stated his order to both Carter and Daniel.

"I believe if she is risking her life to go home that she should be allowed to know the vessel from which she will travel. She has grown in wisdom with her captivity and will never settle for a life that does not involve stopping the Goa'uld" Teal'c said wisely watching the young woman walk away frustrated.

***X*X***

"Is it working?" Daniel asked as the event horizon stabilized and watched as Carter was putting in her codes.

"Oh, let's hope so. If not, I'll be the first to know." Carter said running through the shimmering gate.

"Oriana, if this works you'll go through with me with O'Neill." Daniel said motioning for the refugees to go through. Daniel calls for cover and motions for the last of the refugees to go through as well as himself.

Oriana watches as everyone falls back to the gate and clings to O'Neill as they push through the gate. The next thing she hears is hold your fire and her mind flashes to the moment she was taken. She watches Carter take Teal'c's weapon and her blood boils. "He just saved our lives and you're treating him like he's an enemy!"

"Calm, little one. I need the others to understand I am not a threat." Teal'c says to her as he moves off the ramp causing Oriana to move closer to Jack and the head of SG-2.

"Worm hole disengaged!" A technician calls over the intercom.

Hammond pushes through the crowd and let's out an almost inaudible sigh of relief. "Colonel O'Neill. Care to explain?"

"Um, we can use the Stargate to send these people home, sir" Carter interrupts watching the interaction between the senior and junior Hammond.

"What's he doing here?" Hammond asks looking at the proximity of the alien to his granddaughter.

"General Hammond, this is Teal'c. He can help us." Jack says firmly moving closer to their savior.

"Do you know what he is?" Hammond asks staring the man up and down.

"He's the man who saved our lives, grandpa." Oriana interjects as Jack goes to defend Teal'c. "He saved my life and the life of every one of those refugees. Isn't that enough for you?"

"And if you accept my recommendation, sir…he'll join SG-1." Jack added looking at Oriana like she was insane for speaking out of turn.

"That decision may not be up to you." Hammond says backing off the ramp still watching his granddaughter out of the corner of his eyes.

Jack checks on the rest of SG-1 and 2 and waits for Hammonds composure to return.

"Colonel O'Neill, Major Kawalsky, this sure-to-be-very-interesting debriefing for SG units 1 and 2 will be at 0730. O'Neill, I'd like to talk to you and Miss Hammond in private after you've settled, understood?" He says stiffly walking from the room and returning to his office.

"Yes, sir." Jack and Oriana echoed watching the chaos around them.

"She's out there somewhere, Jack." Daniel says looking at the gate longingly.

"I know. So's Skaara" Jack adds looking at the sadness in Oriana's face.

"so what do we do?" Daniel asks as they turn away from the gate.

"We find them," Jack and Oriana echo again.

***X*X***

"Grandpa?" Oriana calls into General Hammond's office with Jack hot on her tail. She pokes her head in nervously expecting an angry look on her grandfather's face. "I'm so sorry grandpa." She says seeing him she stands at his desk in military formation.

General Hammond sits there looking at his granddaughter and for a moment appears as if he's going to yell at her for breaking the rules, but before she knows what's happened General Hammond has enveloped his granddaughter in a hug. "Stupid, stupid girl, how can you think that after almost losing you I'd be mad at you?" He asks holding her close rubbing her back like he did when he first met her and she'd been afraid that they wouldn't accept an outsider as family.

"I was bored and, it's my fault those men are dead. It's my fault that Viviana is dead. I should be the one to tell her family that she died in line of duty protecting me. She kept them from taking me." Oriana rambled on and on the tears she had held back finally flowing freely from her face.

"Oriana, Ori... stop." General Hammond pulled out of his hug and held her at arms distance looking her in the eyes. "No one blames you. If you hadn't suggested they play cards in the gate room someone else would have. This was meant to be a cake command. The money was gone and we were not prepared for the gate to be reactivated. If I had known it would have been I wouldn't have allowed you to wander around freely. As it is you'll have to be de-breifed before you leave."

"Leave?"

"Yes leave, to go to college in the fall like you promised your grandmother and I." Hammond said moving back to his desk bringing his attention back to Jack. "I want to thank you for bringing her back in one piece. She seems to have developed a bit of a bond with that alien you say saved your lives. I don't know how I feel about that."

"I'm not leaving, grandpa. I want to stay and help. There is going to have to be a full gate program and I'm smart enough to do something around here. I've seen what's out there you can't expect me to go live a mundane life where I can't learn about these things." Oriana said passionately moving around the room.

"Right now, you're going to be de-briefed. You're going to go home apply to the local community college and start there. If you still want to work here then we'll see about getting you a desk job till you're qualified to do anything. High school diploma doesn't mean anything in a field like this. Now go shower and get out of that…thing." Hammond pointed to the door and one of the attendants led Oriana away.

"She'll be a handful when she's older." Jack joked. "When are you going to brief me about why she was allowed near the gate in the first place, Sir?"

"When I think it's necessary, Colonel, for now I'll plant her butt in a desk and keep her as far away from Jackson, Carter and the Gate as possible; because believe it or not she's always been a handful. It turns out that the money is back and we'll be doing a little bit more than originally planned. Sorry that you won't be going back into retirement?"

"No sir, I'm going to find Daniel's wife and brother in law. This isn't over just yet."

A/N2: Can you believe it 6,015 words later and we're finally done with episode 1 and 2(because they broke up Children of the Gods, but I didn't) of Stargate: SG-1! I'm so excited that it's done and I'm glad that you've taken the time to read it. I hope you take the time to review it as well, because it would mean the world to me. This has a lot already planned out, but because I'm in school I can promise updated every week. It is what I'm aiming for since I have such a legacy to follow and so much to work with, but if I don't think something is ready I'm not going to give you it. I'm also searching for a beta reader. I know that I can reread this six million times and still miss mistakes. So if you're a beta reader who's willing to work with me send me a message. Night everyone and remember reviews=love.


	2. The Enemy Within

**Disclaimer: I realize I forgot my disclaimer….sooo….I do not own anything but my original character! But if I did I'd share!**

_** AN: Hey everyone! Sorry for the delay there were a lot of things going on in my life from midterm exams to midterm projects. Gotta love college! I'm so happy to see how many people have been reading! I hope you enjoy this chapter. I also want to say that writing over spring break was a bust. I left the thumb drive with the rough draft at school and had to rewrite most of it, which thinking about it now is a good thing, I think it's better this time around. I'd love comments :)**_

Enemy Within

Oriana watched the world spinning around her and hit her head on the horn of the steering wheel. The situation was beyond ridiculous and her uncle sitting next to her with screaming brats behind her wasn't helping her mood. She hated being the oldest of her cousins, but it was worse than that. They were here to babysit her because her guardian, Grandpa Hammond, didn't trust her to register for her own college classes at the local community college. They were also there to try to convince her that she belonged at a state school or at some Ivy League college a thousand or more miles away from the action. Of course her uncle and cousins didn't know that. All they knew was that she was disappointing them by not following their expectations; for her to pave the way for the little ones wanting to go to Harvard, Yale or Princeton.

"Oriana, that's relatively annoying. I don't want to be the messenger of the bad news, but you put yourself in this position. You were offered full rides to all the colleges you applied to and instead of a well-known school you choose," he couldn't find words to express his disgust at the lack of sophistication surrounding him. "Everyone gets in here, 'riana! Why couldn't you at least go to a four year state school twenty minutes away? Why do you have to live at home with dad?"

"I have my reasons to wanting to stay home." Oriana said frustrated laying her head against the back headrest. Her mind drifting to the entire pile of acceptance letters sitting on the coffee table of her grandfather's house. The tapping of her uncle's fingers on the dash drifting into her thoughts snapped her back to reality; the reality of the situation and of her annoying cousins causing her to shiver and turn her angry stare on her uncle, "Is that necessary? Honestly, I get that you don't want to be here, but I'm here and this is my choice. I'm not going to be the sacrificial lamb that makes things better for your family."

"We just don't think you're living up to your potential. We've offered dad to take you off of his hands. I know you want to stay with him, but Oriana you have to understand that he doesn't have time to be chasing around a teenage girl."

Oriana sighed and unbuckled getting out of the car. "I get it, okay. I know that you all wish I was the one in the fire and not your brother, but this is what happened. I had no choice. Do you think I want to be here, knowing he's not? I loved him. He is the only father I've known and you're the only family I've known. Please accept that, at this point, I'd like to stay with grandpa. I'll deal with my stress, my mourning in my own time." She breathed in deep and she made her way to the office building with the signs on it.

"Can I help you?" The woman behind the desk said trying to mask her frustration tapping her fingers against the desk as she looked up at Oriana.

"I'd just like to register for classes ma 'me. I was told to tell you my name and hand you this." Oriana said handing the woman her transcripts.

The woman's eyes widened at what she saw, "Are you sure you're in the right place, young lady?"

"Yes, and no I'm not over qualified to attend here. I was told that you accepted anyone." Oriana clenched her fists at her side trying to remain calm. First her family and now a complete stranger she was about ready to say forget it and avoid college completely.

"It's just," She seemed at a loss for words, "These grades and qualifications are not what we typically see here, but if you'd like to attend then you'll need to fill out this paper work and choose four or five general education classes."

"Would I be allowed six? I was told I'd be allowed eighteen credits a semester without special permission and twenty-one with permission. I was hoping to get as many of the general requirements done as soon as possible in hopes of beginning my specializations." Oriana said calmly. She knew that she was going to get looks, but this was beyond ridiculous.

"We don't do specializations. You'll work on all of your gen eds and then be transferred to the local state college, unless you have plans of attending a more prestigious school, but yes you will be allowed eighteen credits. We suggest a foreign language as well in order to avoid it at your next location."

"Of course, thank you." Oriana took the paper work the woman handed her and moved her way to an open desk. The paper work was fairly typical, but the questions about her SAT scores made her want to forget it all together. She knew that everyone was expecting her to not be here, but she was tired of the judgments. "Six classes." She muttered listening to the kid next to her tapping his pencil. "Excuse me, but that's kind of annoying." She said as kindly as she could make out in her mood. She sighed when he was more persistent and tried to tune it out with her music and she began to pick her classes.

_Introduction to Humanities, Introduction to Astronomy, Pre-Calculus, English Composition I, Introduction to Fiction, Narration and Description. _She carefully wrote them into the blank spots on the form and made her way back to the offensive woman. "I'd like these classes, please." She said handing back the piece of paper.

"Alright, this shouldn't be a problem. I have your book list if you'd be interested in getting a head start. I'm not promising that this semester won't be tough, but it seems you're up for the challenge." She said handing Oriana the book list and sending her on her way.

Oriana rolled her eyes as she made her way back to her car. "Can we go get my book now?"

Oriana's uncle looked at her and attempted to hide the anger in his face. Her give it to me now persona was driving him to the point of insanity. He never understood he's brother's need to adopt a child and now was no different. "We all want a lot of things Oriana. Like I would love it if you could explain to me why you're wearing a necklace I know for a fact my father confiscated from you the day before the funeral, or why you've decided a community college is the best option for you when we all know getting you to go to high school because it was boring and not challenging enough. Better yet, I'd love to know why you're staying with my father in the first place and not back in the system. What's so special about Oriana No last name?"

"I get that my need to be close to the only part of my past bothers you and your wife, but I've been part of this family for a better part of two years. I don't need you and your judgmental attitudes trying to bring me down. I loved your brother. He was the only father I've ever known and while we didn't see eye to eye on everything. I did my best to make him proud. Do I think doing this, going to a community college; is something that he would have wanted for me? No, but it's what I need to do. I don't know if you realize, but your father is lonely and drowning himself in work. He loves you and all of his grandchildren, but that's not always enough. Now, I don't 'want' to buy my books. I _need_ to buy my books, unless there is a chance you're psychic and already know what is going to be on my exams?"

"You might have him wrapped around your little fingers, but mark my words I'm going to make sure he knows when you finally make a mistake. You're not as perfect as you've led everyone to believe." He hissed his fingers going back to tapping as Oriana slipped into the driver's seat and began her trek to the bookstore.

***X*X***

Oriana sat nestled in the corner of her grandfather's office and sighed frustrated at the sound of the gate activation alarms blared through the loud speakers that inhabited every damn corner of the base. "I'm tired of this ridiculousness." She groaned throwing her ballpoint pen across the room as her grandfather stepped through the door. "I get that they're trying to get through or send weapons to kill us, but does the alarm have to be so loud or even so annoying!" She looked up at him as he surveyed his office.

"I told you that if you wanted to go home I'd fetch a car for you, Oriana. That being said this arrangement isn't working. You've taken up residence in my office, because we had nowhere else for you to study that I believed safe. However, this has finally changed. I had an office set up for you on the other side of the base away from any trouble." He said pulling out the box he'd placed her office key in. "Now that we've settled your arrangements you'll be allowed to shop for office supplies and decorations when we leave tonight, but I'm going to ask that you understand that while I'm trusting you to wander alone on base there are still zones that are strictly out of bounds until such a time that you've proved that you can be trusted to follow orders that are there for your own safety." Hammond said sitting at his desk shuffling through the paper work on it making sure everything was where he'd left it. "Oriana, how are your classes going? That looks like Astronomy homework."

"This is beyond idiotic. The professor thinks that there is no probable way to travel through space. That any arguments that say otherwise don't deserve to be researched he mentioned the scientist that was laughed out of the archeological community, but when I asked for his name all he said was Jackson. I don't get it? He's a genius! And what does Archeology have to do with the stars? This is why you need to make him tutor me!"

"Daniel Jackson has better things to do then to hold your hand and teach you about the stargate. In fact, I'd rather he didn't. I don't want you anymore involved in this then you have to be and that means you have to keep your wandering to a minimum. We'll still be questioning Teal'c and I don't care how much of a soft spot you have for the alien you will not visit him." The taskmaster said firmly.

"Oh c'mon! I'm not a baby and you're acting like he's dangerous. He saved our lives in Chulak. Why can't you or the damned government get it? How is it that an eighteen year old woman is smarter than the government that's sworn to protect me?" She asked crossing her arms across her chest.

"From the mouths of babes." Jack said sneaking into the office in the middle of Oriana's rant. "Sir, I just wanted to let you know we're all ready for that meeting about…" Jack trailed off as the fun killer motioned for him to stop talking.

"Do you have to ruin everything? If I'm not allowed to go off planet with them, at least let me listen in about the cool places they get to go?" Oriana's pout would have been detrimental to anyone but her grandfather, because even Jack had to look away and think up an excuse to dismiss himself.

"You want me to allow you to be a mature adult and yet here you are pouting like a scolded child. I will let you listen in when I think you have earned it. Being here is a privalage not a right and until you accept and understand that you will be confined to the predetermined safe zones. None of which include the gate room or the meeting areas. That being said, holding cells which were previously included in that list of allowed areas are off-limits until further notice." Hammond dismissed Jack and turned back to Oriana, "Right now your job is to do your homework, pass your classes and achieve a degree that would make it viable for you to be an asset to this command. Understood?"

"Yes, sir." She said through her glare and returned her gaze to the discarded astronomy book. "I'm not leaving until the fun stops." She said as she packed up her books and made her way out of the room.

*******X*X***

"Gentlemen, these planets designated P3-575 and P3A-577 have been submitted by Captain Carter's team as possible destinations for your next mission. SG units one and two will operate concurrently." Hammond points out the two dots on the star map in front of him before turning around to see Kawalsky and Jack standing there unprofessionally.

"You know, I'm kind of partial to P3-575 if you don't mind taking P3A-577." Jack said turning and ignoring Hammond.

"No I'll take 577." Kawalsky tried to hide his smirk as they fell into their playful banter.

"I'm not married to it." Jack smiled placing his hand on his war buddies arm.

"No, no it's…"

"I want to be fair about it. How about we flip for it?" Jack said.

Oriana chose this moment to pop her head and hand in with her lucky coin, "I'll flip for you." She smirked at their reactions. They all knew she wasn't allowed in this room and here she was being the trouble maker. "I mean it's only fair that the third party…"

"How about you go where I tell you. And as far as I'm concerned young lady you're going to be on probation if you keep going against orders as if they were a new rule to break. Who the sam-hell is going to want to take you off-world if they know you won't follow orders that are in place for your own safety!"

Hammond sighs as the alarms go off for the second time in the same day.

"Alert! Inbound traveler! Repeat. Inbound traveler!"

"Thank you captain obvious, the annoying alarms didn't have anything to do with us realizing there was an off world activation. So of course those idiots will continue to send travelers through."

"Damn, those Goa'ulds are persistent." Kawalsky sighed watching the others scramble around to follow procedure, "If it makes you feel better kid, I'd take you along. It's always better to have someone whose persistent and knows they belong then some brownnoser that'll only follow mister boring over there."

"I think we pissed them off." Jack said turning to face Oriana, "You sure do like to cause trouble. Next thing you know you're going to be bribing some of the weaker minded security to teach you how to fire a gun, which by the way I would never approve of, and really your grandfather would open up to the idea of you being here if you were so reckless."

"Closing the Iris."

"Do you have to give us a damn step by step of everything you're doing to 'keep us safe' it's a bit redundant since I'm sure they all realize what you're going to do! I'm also sure that they realize that those are lives are going to be lost, because the host is still a person even if they are not present when they try to walk through that iris!" Oriana breathing was getting heavier and she felt the tears in her eyes, "It's not like they have much of a choice, Skaara and Sha're had no choice and you sit here and judge those people, you kill them because of a damn parasite! Something they have no control of. It's like picking up a tapeworm in another country and bringing it back with you. It's not something you choose to do!"

Hammond continued shouting out order, but was not oblivious to what his granddaughter was saying. He knew she was hurting, but there was nothing he could do for her at the moment. This wasn't an easy or moral situation. "We're doing the best we can to protect the earth. You saw what they do to people; do you really believe that those people who were taken by force want to have died in vain?" He looks over at Jack to motion for him to engage Oriana in banter before stating one more order, "Set the base auto destruct countdown at three minutes."

Kawalsky sees Hammond and nods discreetly to him moving closer to the teen. "Don't worry too much about going off-world, kid. We're not going anywhere as long as the Goa'ulds keep up these attacks." He looked at Jack and Daniel and it was obvious they both had the same line of thinking, but Daniel got his words out first.

"They can't keep them up forever…Can they?"

Oriana looks at them all and throws her hand up in exasperation, "Really? That's all that you can think about Daniel? What if they've sent Skarra or Sha're? Then what?" The thumping against the iris causes Oriana to cringe and move towards the exit of the room, "I think I should go."

"Well, once they realize our Gate's impenetrable they should just give up."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better, Carter? Once they realize? What if they never realize, or better yet what if they just don't care. They might not even be sending Goa'uld through. I bet you anything those are Jaffa, the slaves of a race that thinks they're better than the rest of the world. A race that rules with fear; hmm, I wonder if that sounds at all familiar. Maybe, oh I don't know, the exodus from Egypt anyone?"

"Part of me just wants to let 'em through. Give 'em the fight they're looking for." He helped move Oriana towards the door, "I think its best you find that desk he assigned you before he forces you to leave the base all together. We know how Grandpa H can be when he's mad at you."

Oriana rolled her eyes as she snuck out the door in time to hear the countdown being shut off. She wandered down the halls wishing that someone would be smart enough to give her a map of 'restricted' zones, because it always seemed like she was finding trouble, or rather causing it. Her eyes went to the hallway where she knew Teal'c was being kept and part of her wished she could be a fly on the wall for that conversation. A man who had been so willing to help them kept in a cage like a prisoner.

***X*X***

"Teal'c?" Oriana called into the room poking her head cautiously through the door. Her astronomy book still in hand. "I was wondering if you could help me with my homework…" She said softly with a small fib. She didn't really need or want the help, but with the constant alarm blaring she really just wanted a friend.

"You do not seem like an unintelligent woman child." Teal'c said sitting up on his bed looking at the child in front of him. "If you required assistance you would be going to speak with Daniel Jackson or O'Neill. So tell me woman child, why have you come to me?"

Oriana frowned as she slipped into the room closing the door carefully, "Because you make me feel safe. You're the only reason we escaped Chulak and because my grandfather does not want me to be here."

"Then perhaps you should not disobey him. I was under the impression that you had intentions of joining O'Neill's team to discover the universe. Perhaps I was mistaken?" Teal'c moved to a seated position on the floor.

"I do want to, but I want to go now and not a million years from now." She whined sitting across from him in a yoga position she'd picked up from her morning workout tapes. "He is treating me like a child and I feel a part of me is older than the rest of me. I don't particularly understand why, but on days when I am frustrated the most I feel like those dreams mean something." She said setting down her astronomy book between them. "We are so far behind in scientific advancements it's disgusting. Can you imagine us surviving a full Goa'uld attack? We are not only outnumbered, but impossibly over powered."

"You are avoiding the real problem, woman child." Teal'c said watching her curiously.

"Oriana, or Ori, okay? Just don't call me kid or woman child anymore. It's slightly offensive that everyone on this base seems to think I am child. I am eighteen years old; I've obviously had a hard life, because I don't remember anything before my sixteenth birthday. And to be honest, I think I'm more mature then most eighteen year old humans." She said turning to the page her homework was on. "We're learning about the new information NASA has provided about Jupiter. I love that I'm learning what's up to date, but I feel like even this is too far behind. I feel the American Government knows more then it's letting on now that we have a way to travel the stars."

"Your race has the capability of traveling the stars, but there is much time for you to do so. You are young and should not be in a rush to be old." Teal'c said hearing footsteps approaching his door.

"Hey. Am I interrupting anything?" Jack asked entering the room not paying attention to the fact that Teal'c was not alone.

"Yes."

"Why don't I come back?" Jack looks closer and realizes that he recognizes that pin straight black hair and chuckles, "You really don't know how to stay out of trouble do you?" Jack joked ruffling her hair. "Kid, you know that your grandfather is going to flip a lid."

"I don't really care. I'm tired of being suffocated. Besides, Teal'c is helping me with my astronomy homework." She said pointing to the homework between them.

"From what I hear you don't really need help with any of this basic stuff. Jackson told me you've begged him every day for the last two weeks to tutor you himself and he's refused. You realize Carter is more likely to try to help you then he is, right? He's too afraid Hammond will pull him from the team and force him on desk duty."

"For your information, I have no intention of talking to Carter, because she seems to agree with my grandfather; either need to hide in a corner like a scared kitten or go do military boot camp and be like all the other grunts on this base, no offense."

Teal'c ignored the banter between the two in front of him and decided it was best to interrupt, "The people from Chulak?"

Jack looked at Teal'c and back at the door, "We sent the last of them back through the Gate just before the Goa'uld started knocking at the door." He looked back at Oriana and tried to motion for her to leave.

"I'm not leaving, Jack. If I do leave I'm going to find someone to teach me how to shoot a gun so that grandpa stops thinking I'm defenseless." She said flipping to another page in her astronomy book.

"You will not. That is an order, kid. If you want me to take you on any off world missions you will not learn to fire a gun. I find out you know how to and that'll be your bench warming ticket." He said moving around the tight quarters of the holding cells turning the chair around and sitting down.

"Good." Teal'c said remaining unmoved as the banter continues between the two humans becomes more heated and less friendly. "O'Neill is correct, Oriana, learning to fire a weapon, a gun in particular, is impractical. If you were to join them on off world missions you'd be going as a scientist not as military personal."

"If? Does every person on this base think I'm that much of a risk, or is it that you're afraid my grandfather will put you all on desk duty for siding with me?" She growled slamming her book shut and exiting the room in a frustrated and immature manner.

"It is obvious that she is not mentally prepared for the situations you are likely to encounter, O'Neill. I suggest you find a way to keep her appeased or it is likely you might one day find a stowaway in your gear." Teal'c added as the door slammed shut.

***X*X***

"I'm going to drop by the Control Room. By the silence around here, it seems like the Goa'ulds have finally given up." Carters voice echoes through the hallway as Oriana wanders aimlessly with her astronomy book in her hand. She sees them and stops to listen. "When was the last time you slept?"

Daniel sighed, "I don't know." He looks around and sees Oriana standing and staring at the end of the hall. "I don't think you're allowed down here, Oriana."

"I just wanted to see if you'd be willing, but I understand that you've not been able to sleep." Oriana said looking down at her astronomy book weakly.

"Doesn't help when the whole base goes on alert every two hours" Carter added as she looks at Oriana and cocks her head a bit, "I could help you if you'd like."

"I don't think the noise is—" Oriana starts, but is interrupted by Daniel.

"No, it's not that, it's just that…my mind races and I can't stop thinking about Sha're, where she is, what she's become," His voice drifts off and tried to have a small smile for Oriana's sake. "I'd love to help you, but you know how your grandfather's been trying to keep you out of trouble and it's likely that helping you will just get you in more trouble. He likes to remind us that I have better things to do then keep an eighteen year old entertained."

"I know, but you can't stay awake forever." Carter interjected looking at the disappointed Oriana. "I have time to help you and keep you out of trouble. I might not agree with you being here, but if you need help on something that'll help make you useful to this command then I'll do what it takes to get your through it."

"It's not that I'm not grateful for the offer, but I'm not too sure what you can help me with. The teacher is a crack pot old fool and thinks that he knows exactly what NASA is up to, but if that were the case he's no more about this place and not be allowed to teach. I'm apparently a little too advanced for my own good."

"There is nothing wrong with that. The smarter you are and the quicker you learn the more useful you'll be. How about we take this into your office? I was made aware that General Hammond made one available to you."

"Yes he did, but I…"Oriana looked and Jackson and lowered her head defeated. "This way." She said motioning towards the opposite direction.

"Why don't we go check out the control room first? I'm sure that if you have a chaperon your grandfather couldn't object. Perhaps we could even discuss some lessons in how these controls work for when you're finally allowed a seat at one of the consuls." Carter said nicely leading Oriana away from Jackson.

"Do you think Sha're is okay? She is a wonderful person and Daniel is a lucky man to have her as his wife." She said softly.

"I'm afraid I don't know that answer to that question." Carter said softly as she stopped walking after hearing the alarm. "I'm afraid that you'll have to go hole up in your office. I'll make sure to come down after things have calmed down." She said motioning for Oriana to run along.

***X*X***

Oriana sat in her office for the duration of the events. An armed guard posted at her doors and another sitting across from her attempting to keep her company. "I don't understand why you are required to sit here and watch me study."

"I am here because none of your school age 'friends' have clearance and someone has to keep you from losing you mind during lock downs. Also, your grandfather informed me that while there were military personal unfamiliar with your situation on base it would be best if you were," he froze and began to stumble with his words.

"In other words, my grandfather doesn't want me to cause trouble when there are people that could report my presence on base." Oriana said looking up from her textbook. "I'm well aware that not everyone approves of me being here, but if that had been the case he should have forbade me ahead of time."

"Miss. Hammond, he did forbid you ahead of time and if I'm not mistaken you had a fit." The guard said rising his eye brows at her reaction. "How about we begin looking at your Pre-Calculus homework?"

"Are you capable of helping me with that? Or are you saying that because you are bored by my Narration and Description homework?" Oriana giggled as the man nearly bashed his head into the desk.

"Son, I think it would be best if you left her to her miserableness. Oriana, it's time for you to go home. Everything has been handled." Hammond said as the guards began to dissipate.

"I'm not ready to go home, grandpa. I was hoping that maybe I could talk to Sam again?" she looked at her grandfather with a hopeful expression, but when his smile faded she knew they'd already been deployed on another mission. "I see, well I guess I'll just start packing up."

"You've been relatively well-behaved. I suppose we could stop in the control room for a bit. Carter is right you should know how to work things in there and if you maintain your grades I suppose that occasionally I might allow you to take a watch. There will be rules of course and I'm sure you'll understand that like your syllabus they are subject to change at a moment's notice."

Oriana's face lit up at he led her towards the control room. "Will I be allowed to sit in on briefings now? As long as I maintain my GPA and don't break anymore rules?" Oriana asked hopefully as they reached the entrance of the room.

***X*X***

AN2:

"I would like it if you did, but there is a catch. I feel as does Carter that the more we allow you to be here the more you ought to make a life outside of the Stargate program. We want you to join a club, or something." General Hammond said as they reached the doors of their destination.

"I want more than a few briefings and a few hours in the control room. If I join a club and make friends my own age I want to be allowed to go off world." She said firmly as they stepped into the room. "I understand that first contact won't be allowed. It is of course to dangerous, but on some of the planets we've made allies with perhaps I might be allowed to study something from them? Even if it's just a five minute trip, but I want to see what else is out there."

"That can be discussed when you are more qualified to join scientific off world activity. Till that point you may sit in on all breifings concerning SG1 and I will," he paused and considered his words. "I will allow Daniel Jackson to tutor you in the off world cultures they run into so that when the time is right you can join SG1 as a junior field scientist under the direct supervision of both Carter and Jackson. That is a far ways off young lady. You will not be allowed for shits and giggles and you will have to work hard."

Oriana smiled, "Of course."

"And if you continue to break the parameters of our compromise none of this will happen. I am able to ban you from this facility. Pull another stunt like sneaking in to speak with Teal'c while his area of the base was off-limits, sneaking into the control room when you are not invited and talking back to me in front of those who are meant to respect me will lead to loss of all privileges of being on this base. Is that understood?"

"Sir, yes, Sir!" She giggled as she sat down in one of the empty chairs.

"And please don't do that again. It makes me feel old."

***X*X***

_**AN2: Well there it is. The Enemy Within. I understand that they main focus of this episode was cut out, but considering her age and that her grandfather would have done everything in his power to avoid any more mental damage I believe that it was handled correctly. That being said. Please leave your opinions in the shiny little comment box :) Next chapter will skip an episode or two depending on their content. Any off-world activity is most likely going to be cut because as Hammond mentioned, he's in charge.**_


	3. The Broca Divide

**Disclaimer: I realize I forgot my disclaimer….sooo….I do not own anything but my original character! But if I did I'd share!**

The Broca Divide

"Can't we at least talk about this? I thought I was doing well…" Oriana's voice drifted through the open door of her astronomy professor's office. "You agreed that I'm a brilliant student, but you gave me and 'F' on this paper assignment."

"This is beyond your capabilities as a student, Miss. Hammond. I'm afraid that writing at a graduate level as a freshman is nearly impossible. I cannot believe that you did not have someone else write this for you. I will allow you to rewrite this, but I am ashamed of you. I expected better and it will take a lot to prove to me that you deserve this rewrite and that this is in fact written at your level." He said firmly as he accommodated himself at his desk.

"One you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth." She quoted moving to sit across from him. "I am an exceptionally good writer, my past educators have focused on it in hopes that I would be noticed, but I don't think this is what they meant, sir. I've never done so poorly and this is," she struggled for the words, but all she saw were the faces of SG1 and her grandfather looking disappointed and the doors of the base being barred from her. "Unacceptable."

"I am sorry, Miss. Hammond, but my decision is final. Word around this campus is that you have been accused of academic dishonesty just recently, but there hasn't been enough proof to have you academically reprimanded." The professor said angrily.

"Then let me prove that I'm just a natural student and all of the charges against me are false, or just a case of jealous rage. I'll rewrite my papers in front of you. In the library, anywhere, but please I swear I didn't cheat." The tears that had previously been hidden by her bangs began to waterfall down to cheeks.

"I'd be willing to do that, but the topic would have to change…"

"I don't think that's necessary, professor. I'm sorry I'm late, but the school was weary to give me any information about this meeting." The firm voice of General Hammond permiated the office. "I have brought proof that my granddaughter is capable of writing at the level she's given you. Every written assignment since she was adopted at sixteen." He said placing the manila folder in front of the professor.

"I'm not interested in what she had done, but rather what she's given me. Not only is it graduate level, as I previously stated, but it is also controversial and practically science fiction. The men who wrote this theory would be appalled by her destruction of it. I've seen many a student fall into this trap, but from a student with promise, because I do admit she is gifted, it's even more insulting. These topics and break downs, which I dismissed in the first week of classes, are unacceptable and I won't tolerate her insults."

"I thought you were supposed to nurture your student's ideas? If you think her ideas are science fiction show her proof for that statement." General Hammond said him temper rising with each acid remark.

"I am a PHD in my subject and she is an eighteen year old student that cannot accept that the tv shows she's allowing to rot her brain are fiction!"

"So prove it! I'm sorry, but I showed where the theory had it's weakest points. I want to know why they were so weak and why they were over looked. It's because I'm clever!" Oriana huffed as the professor glared at her.

"If you want to ruin your academic name then do so after you've received your doctorate and when my name can no longer be associated with yours!" The professor snapped angrily as he stood and showed them to the door.

"Now who in the Sam-Hell do you think you are? This is censorship at it's basest level and if you give her that 'F' that you're so eager to dish out I will take it up with your boss. And then I will keep it going up your chain of command till you're so worn out from all the ass chewing you'll beg for her to not show up and just give her the 'A' she so obviously deserves." General Hammond snatched Oriana's paper from her and motioned for them to leave.

Oriana hid her trembling lip as she followed him with tears still falling down her face. "I'm sorry." She muttered.

***X*X***

"Oriana, could I speak to you for a moment?" Daniel's voice permeated Oriana's mental haze as he entered her office.

"I'm not your superior Daniel, you're my tutor remember?" Oriana chuckled as she covered up the papers on her desk.

"After reading this paper I'm not so sure you should be at that idiotic school, or even in an entry level astronomy class. Carter and I were discussing it…"

"Forget that it even exists. I wrote a new one and dumbed it down on an 'acceptable' topic. The professor was right. I don't have a right to attack a PHD when I'm only a freshman and I should be careful not to discredit myself so soon. Grandpa won't need to return to school." Oriana shuffled through the papers again nervously as Daniel moved to sit across from her.

"Oriana, the flaws and weak points you exposed were brilliant. I would never have thought of making time the variable. I always thought time was a constant, but obviously it can't be because we measure time differently according to our son." Daniel rambled on about her paper.

Oriana smiled and a small blush crept onto her face. "Thank you, but time just seemed," she struggled to find the right word. "Wibbly wobbly timey wimey." Her hands moved in a circular formation as she spoke.

"Sometimes, I can't help but wonder how that brain of yours works. You're eighteen, but sometimes…" Daniel faded off as he saw the smile on Oriana's face fall.

"I wish I knew why I am the way I am, but I don't. My dad he used to say that I was probably one of those whiz kids that they pushed till I was so far gone that I had a mental breakdown that was so massive I woke up one morning and didn't know anything, but I don't think it works that way."

"Aren't you curious?" Daniel looked at her with his odd 'I'm studying you' expression.

"I spent two years searching. I have this," she showed him her broken pocket watch necklace, "And have an old grandfather clock. We still don't understand how it survived the fire. I guess I was always meant to have it. It's in storage now. Apparently my biological family had an unnatural fixation with time." She shrugged as she noticed her grandfather's shadow on the threshold of her door. "Hey, grandpa." She said with a forced smile that screamed she didn't want to talk about it.

"There is a briefing in ten-minutes. I realize you don't have a uniform so I expect you to be there in civilian scientific personal attire." General Hammond nodded at Daniel and left the room.

"What exactly does he mean by, civilian scientific personal attire?" Oriana asked Daniel with a paranoid look on her face.

"Army green pants and a black shirt." Daniel said leaving the room. "And don't be late he'll be furious!" He added poking his head back into the room.

"Good to know…"

***X*X***

Oriana noticed that everyone was seated when she attempted to sneak in and take the only empty seat in between Teal'c and Daniel. "Did he start?"

"Cut it kind of close, but no you're not technically late. Though…what are you wearing?" Daniel asked his wide eyed looking giving him away when General Hammond turned around.

"It's all I had…you said green cargo pants and a black top. This is what you get when you don't have time to go shopping." She said tightening the pony tail she'd made in the locker room.

"When we completed interviews of all the refugees you brought back from Chu'lak, ten of them identified the final four symbols the Goa'ulds used to escape through the Chu'lak Stargate. When we disregard the last one as point of origin that leaves three to work with." Said Hammond as he paced the room making no notice of his granddaughter's lack of dress. "Captain Carter's computer model has thus far extrapolated only one set of symbols from the Abydos cartouche that contains these three glyphs." He moved in front of the computer and queues it to show to module he is discussing.

"Let me guess. That's where we're going." Jack added a bit sarcastically.

"Very good…Oriana Marie Hammond, what are you wearing?" General Hammond's widened at the site of his granddaughter's too tight pants and too low cut top. "I said appropriately, I didn't think I'd have to explain myself." He watched Jackson hand her his coat and nodded to him appreciatively.

"Thank you sir, I pride myself in my deductive reasoning skills." He added with a grin on his face smirking at the blush on Oriana's face. He knew he'd have to have a talk with Jackson about this school girl crush of her, but for now he'd sit and be amused at her antics.

"In one hour, you will go through the Gate to the planet represented by these symbols. It has been designated P3X-797." Hammond continued watching the group from the corner of his eye.

"Couldn't we call this planet something that's a little easier to remember?"

"I agree with Daniel, if I'm going to have to write up a report on this I really don't want to have to remember P3X…um, yeah." She said as she listened to one of the people in the room tapping their pencils incessantly.

"Ah, it's based on a binary code the computer uses for extrapolation."

"And while the binary code is useful in labeling them, isn't it better if we named these planets. The people we've met aren't just another number. It makes sense to ask them the names of their planets or if there is none at least have a name we call it." Oriana pointed out chewing on the eraser of her pencil since the tapping had become increasingly annoying. "Could you stop with the godforsaken tapping?" She stressed biting the eraser harder as her plea sounded more like a command.

"We sent a MALP probe through thirty minutes ago. Atmosphere is breathable, no detectable radiation and temperature approximately forty degrees Fahrenheit." Hammond interjected as he noticed the situation becoming too much of a lunch room squabble.

"Can we see the video play back, sir?"

Oriana looked at her grandfather and saw his hesitation, but she wanted to hope for the best and ignored it, until her fears were confirmed.

"As I was saying, there is no video play back."

"Why no play back?" Jack asked flipping through the pages of his briefing curiously.

"It appears to be very dark where the gate resides on this planet." Hammond looked around at the team cautiously gaging reactions and then his eyes fixed on Oriana and her fidgeting. "Oriana, I think you should head out. I'll give you the run down on the rest of the briefing after your hand to hand combat lesson." He said in his no nonsense attitude the others standing as she left the room.

***X*X***

Oriana wandered through the compound and made her way to where her normal hand to hand combat instruction was meant to take place, but saw no one. She sighed flustered as she began doing the warm ups her instructor had provided for her previously.

"Good." A voice echoed out of the shadows of the room. "It seems you can at least follow some orders. When they told me I was to teach you discipline and defensive hand to hand I thought, boy do you have your work cut out for you? She's a stubborn hot head who won't know how to learn discipline."

"Sir? You've been working with me for weeks. Why are you bothering to test my 'discipline' or lack thereof now? When you could have done so weeks ago and been done with me." Oriana growled shrugging off Jackson's jacket.

"What's the fun in testing someone who's defenseless? No, there was a reason I chose today of all days. We are going to spar, but there is going to be a bit of a bet involved." He looked at her like a piece of meat and then it clicked for her.

"You didn't test me because you think I'm a hot little eighteen year old piece of ass that's a push over because her grandpa is in charge. And you thought if you made a move on me I'd run straight to grandpa and have you shipped off planet. I'll have you know I'm not against being a snitch, but I can fight my own battles. You might be close to my age, but you never had a chance. I like men with a little bit more intelligent and a shit ton more brains then a little jar head like you."

The young jar head smirked, "This jarhead is a bit smarter then you're giving him credit for." He moved closer and around Oriana. Observing her as he made his circles.

Oriana watched him go around in the same circles to defend herself waiting for the right time to lash out at him. "If you were smart then you would have tested me before you taught me."

"I prefer when someone has a semblance of a chance as opposed to a beat down, Miss. Hammond." He said returning to formality. "Now, give me a jab jab kick jab dodge."

Oriana rolled her eyes and did what he said. "Is there a reason you're doing this." She asked bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"You have to learn to use these combinations. Now, while your flustered is the best way to test what you've learned."

"This is dumb! I demand that you teach me and not leave it to my god damned instincts!" Oriana growled pushing him watching him stumble. "I won't play this game of yours!"

The jarhead smirked and began to tap against the wall. "Oh, I'm sorry does that bother you?" He watched her cringe and her blood boil as her rage bubbled to the surface. "But I read your file, Ms. Hammond. You've got a distinct hatred for tapping. Tapping on desks, tapping on walls, tapping with finger, or pencils, or anything at all. Rumor has it you got into a fight, nearly got kicked out of school because you hit some poor sod for tapping on his desk." He tapped more against the wall getting louder and louder.

Oriana glared at him and lost her temper. She charged him and began the combinations one after the other after the other. She was blinded by her rage and swung far left repeatedly.

Over and over she attempted to hit him and over and over again she missed until he grew tired of the charade caught one of her punches and knocked her over on her ass pinning her to the ground. "You were saying about learning?" He whispered in her ear. "If you want to learn," he started staring at her straight in the eye, "You need to learn to work past your rage and to do that I have to push you. You're right, I think you hot and even more so when you're as angry as you just were. The way the sweat is rolling down your face, but you're off limits. Nothing I do is going to change that. I don't break the rules like you do. I earned my way here it's about damn time you did the same." He pushed himself off the ground and walked out the door leaving Oriana panting on the ground.

***X*X***

Oriana looked around the table and could tell already that there was another science verses military discussion about to happen. "Daniel, do we have to have this argument every time you guys come back?"

Daniel looked at her with a 'what do you think' look and got up to begin his argument, "I'm sorry sir, I know I'm a guest at this party, but I have to protest."

"Let me guess, Doctor. This is the science versus military discussion again?" Hammond said sarcastically sitting down looking at his granddaughter smirking at her reaction as her head tried to stop itself from bouncing off of the table.

"Well…yes. This mission was a perfect example of my argument. We should have stayed on that planet longer. It was the perfect opportunity to study Minoan culture."

"Every time we find a non-violent planet and you leave quickly you say the same thing, Daniel. Jack isn't going to let this go. If it is safe then he's gonna say let's pack up and go. I've read all the briefings. What makes this so different?"

"Not to mention primitive man." Carter added.

"This really isn't necessary, Doctors…" Hammond tried to interject again.

Oriana looked at him and the realization of the situation nearly made her giggle.

"Sir, would you let me finish, please? Okay, um, the people on the dark side are pre-Stone Age, but the people on the light side are clearly from the Bronze Age, so what better opportunity to study the Broca Divide?"

Hammond nods and smirks at his granddaughter again as well as the yawn that Jack didn't suppress. "The what? Excuse me?"

"Broca Divide. Pierre Paul Broca was a nineteenth century anthropologist; he founded modern craniometry, to study craniums and brains and to compare the divide in intelligence between early species of mankind." Oriana said as if reciting out a text book. The looks given to her by Carter and Daniel made her giggle even more. "I got bored. I figured we'd need to know a bit about primitive man if I was ever allowed to go off world. We don't know how people evolved or devolved after leaving earth." She said looking down self-consciously.

"Fascinating." Jack said as he turned to Hammond, "Should I start the debriefing sir?"

"Well, that would be a good idea, Colonel." Hammond said watching Oriana stifling her giggles, "If you can't be serious during this meetings, Oriana Marie Hammond then you don't need to be here at all. Understood?"

Oriana rolled her eyes, "Yes, Sir."

"Now just, just wait a minute!" Daniel said getting flustered.

Hammond sighed. "Dr. Jackson you're wasting your breath, you've already won the argument. The giggles from the nuisances over there should have given it away when you started trying to argue with me."

"But I have to insist that you, w-,what-, what-, what? I've already won?"

"The president agrees with you. He's asked that we evaluate the scientific and cultural value of each mission from now on." He said watching the reactions around the room.

"Oh, for crying out loud." Jack protested.

"Jack, the president has a point. If the united states could begin trading with some of the more advanced cultures we come across it could be used for the betterment of our race. Just think of the technological advancements."

"That's great!" Carter said excitedly before watching Johnson jump up and begin attacking Teal'c.

"Wonder how that thing in your gut would like its next ripped in half."

"Please release me, Lieutenant Johnson." Teal'c said seriously.

"Johnson! Let him go!" Makepeace barked watching Oriana cringe at his tone. "I'm sorry, Miss. Hammond, but the time for niceties has past."

"Not until the Goa'uld apologizes!" Johnson spat out his eyes buldging more from his face.

"Lieutenant Johnson take you seat now!" Hammond looked at how close Oriana was to Teal'c and cringed.

Johnson screams and takes another swing at Teal'c who blocks the punch and easily subdued him before looking to Hammond and then observing Oriana cringed next to him. "Do not fear wom- Oriana. I have handled it. General, I'd prefer to not hurt this man."

Hammond nodes and security takes charge of Johnson bringing him infront of Hammond, "What is your problem, marine?"

"He's a jarhead that's…"Oriana stops when she notices that he's foaming at the mouth. "Grandpa, I think that something is wrong."

Hammond looks back at Oriana and nods, "Take him to the infirmary, tell them to keep him in restraints and check him out." He turned back to the room, "Dismissed, except for you Ori. We need to have a bit of a talk."

The room emptied in moments of being dismissed, but Daniel lingered momentarily before Hammond sent him a look that said 'not now, doctor.' And left with the others. "Ori, I realize that things are not going the way you want, but before we can even consider allowing you to go off-world….there will be rules and you haven't managed to pass any of the requirements for off-world travel."

"When then? I have been studying my ass off and you keep putting me on the side lines. I saw your hesitation when you invited me today and I saw how you kicked me out when things were getting good this afternoon. So obviously there is a lot of doubt when it comes to me leaving!"

"It's not that I doubt you, but you have to understand! You are more mature then most young people, but …" he struggled to find his words. "Oriana, you're eighteen and there is so much more to life than this. I just want you to see that before you think about making this life yours for good. Once you step through that gate things change. You won't be able to…life will be much more difficult to live. A lot of doors will be closed to you."

"There are already hundreds of doors closed to me because I don't know anything about my past. No medical history. No anything. I'm no closer to finding anything about my past then I am deciding what I want to do with my life. Except for this."

"If you want through the gate you have to go through the same hoops as every 'jarhead' on this base. Understand? You have to pass a PT, have to be able to defend yourself and you have to be able to keep up with all the science tech necessary to be functional on a mission. This is my last say on it. If I don't think you're ready you'll sit you r ass in the control room and watch SG-1 travel back and forth. Is that clear?"

"As crystal." Oriana glared trying to walk out of the room in a dignified manner.

***X*X***

"We've managed to isolate an organisim in the victims' bloodstreams." Fraiser said as they began to draw blood from Oriana.

"No. I'm sorry, Doc, but blood cannot be taken from my granddaughter." He pushed the nurses away and pocked the vial of what was already drawn. "Organisim? Like a parasite or something?"

"But, Sir, she's not sick like everyone else. The answers to why might be in her bloodstream." Fraiser said protesting as Oriana clenched her arm shut. "More like a, a parasitical virus and from what I can tell it seems to feed on alines and colines; chemical transmitters in the body. That includes neurotransmitters. As they're depleted, all but the most primitive parts of the brain seem to just shut down."

"That why they're acting like animals?"

"Actually, the organisim seems to release a hormone that stimulates the primitive regions of the brain that are normally dormants. I-I have never seen anything like this on Earth."

"Exactly. On Earth. That would explain the Touched."

"Beg your pardon?"

"Didn't you read the report that Daniel and Jack composed? It's what the primitive on the dark side of P3X-797 were called. The Touched." Oriana said with a bit of an attitude as she observed the people around her in hospital beds. "And I think that if my blood can help solves this that they should be able to draw it. It's not like it's against my religion on anything."

"No, just against my orders." Hammond said raising his eyebrows daring her to challenge him.

"But I think, given the recent events that it's safe to say they aren't born primitive, they must have this very contagious disease, and we cam in contact with them. Isn't that special?"

"So, the question is: Why have you, Oriana or Mr. Teal'c come down with the symptoms?" Fraiser asked, "I would take your blood, but he's made it quite plain that if I do I'll be facing a court Marshall. I'm sorry, Oriana."

"Um, Mr. Teal'c's— Teal'c's symbiote probably protects him."

"That would be likely." Teal'c agreed looking over at Oriana smirking at the pout that was beginning to form on her lips.

"So what about you, Dr. Jackson? And Oriana for that matter. An eighteen year old whose never been exposed to anything alien."

"Well, that beats me. You're the doctor, Doctor. Uh, maybe we have a natural immunity."

"Perhaps the both of you will develop symptoms later." Teal'c stated looking over at Oriana and General Hammond with a worried expression. "And if it is a natural immunity then General you would have no need to worry about being exposed either."

"We're not related Teal'c. Oriana was adopted by my eldest son a few years ago." Hammond said watching Oriana cautiously. "She could be immune, but I would not be."

"I am checking both of your blood, and I would have checked yours Oriana, for the presense of the organism, and I would bet that you all have it. This appears to be highly contagious."

"Are you saying we could have brought a new plague to this planet?"

"Yes sir, that's exactly what I'm saying."

"Well that's it. I'm order this mountain sealed off. No one comes in or goes out until we get a handle on this thing." Hammond says as he storms out motioning for Oriana to not follow him.

"I think I'm in trouble again." She sighed finding the nearest wall to slide down and wait for things to get better.

***X*X***

"Either of you know how to draw blood?" Hammond asks both Teal'c and Daniel who stare back at him blankly as if he had a third head attached. "Doctor, teach them. You go though in half an hour, gear up."

"W—w—w—wait, wait. Just the…two of us?"

"You're immune. I don't know anyone else who is!"

"I'm immune and I'll go with them." Oriana said slipping into the room quietly. "I haven't been affected. Maybe I could help ease the tension when they go through?"

Hammond looked at his granddaughter with tight lips and back at Teal'c and Jackson. "You can go if they don't mind you tagging along."

"It would be unwise to go in so outnumbered, but I fear that you do not know how to defend yourself, young….Oriana." Teal'c said looking at the back and forth between the pair. "If you can defend yourself then you may come, but you better keep up. We are not going on what O'Neill would call a field trip."

Oriana smiled. "Good. I'm ready." She revealed her back pack of stuff and a small pistol in the holster at her hip.

"That can stay." Hammond said pulling the gun away from Oriana, "And you better hope I don't tell O'Neill about that. I bet he wouldn't be too pleased."

Oriana glares as the begin their descent to the gate room. Daniel's sneeze pulls her out of her own thoughts. She is excited by her pending voyage, but at the same time she's worried about her grandfather. He would likely be afflicted by the dieses that plagues the base and if that was the case who else would she have left.

"Do not worry, Daniel Jackson and Oriana Hammond, the Touched are frightened by your loud, Earth weapons. We can easily subdue them." Teal'c said after seeing the looks on both Daniel and Oriana's face of fear and nerves.

"That's easy for you to say. Oriana, are you sure you don't want to stay behind. I'm sure that the Doctor could use your help… no you're right. You should come with us." Oriana's face was enough to have Daniel walk through the gate without much complaint.

Daniel put up his arm to stop Teal'c. "Teal'c, It's Melosha. She's alive." Jackson says looking at the body in their path.

"She's beautiful, but what is she doing unconscious on this side of the planet. In your report you said that the touch and untouched lived separated by light and dark."

"It appears she is afflicted, Oriana." Teal'c said looking at her and observing their surroundings.

"So they just dumped her out here?" Daniel said frustrated checking her vital signs.

"We dump them in a small padded room." Teal'c added as he continued to survey their surroundings.

"To protect them."

"To protect everyone elses. There is little difference."

"There is a lot of difference, Teal'c." Oriana growls looking at the girl who must be close to her own age. "She looks so, young. How could someone dump their child here?"

"How could we dump children who were lepers into leper colonies. They're like lepers. The dark side is a leper colony. We are no better than them." Daniel said picking up Melosha. "I won't leave her here."

"What is a leper?"

"Now is not the time Teal'c. Help us." Oriana said as she hands Daniel the blanket from her pack. She looks around and tries to suppress her scream, but is unable to do so as they are surrounded by the Touched.

"Fire your weapon, Daniel Jackson. It will frighten them!"

***X*X***

"Where is Doctor Jackson?" The overly concerned Dr. Fraiser asked as she looked over the silent and obviously startled Oriana. "Snap out of it kid! I need you to tell me where Doctor Jackson is."

"He…I…" Oriana stumbled with her words. She wasn't ready. She froze. Everything from her time in captivity came back to here, but they were not the ones that had harmed her. No, those poor people were only infected by an illness that they had no control over. Their minds could do nothing to help this situation. They were like small children and afraid of loud noises that they couldn't explain. Poor Daniel. Her mind couldn't focus on what was being asked and the room seemed to spin out of control. How could she be helpful to these people if she couldn't even handle her own panic? She was panicking that's what it was. There was nothing out of the ordinary. Surely this wasn't the first time someone had made a mistake like this. But her mind kept picturing her grandfather's betrayed, disappointed, grounding looks. She'd never be allowed through the gate again. Not until she'd passed every test they through at her. If they even allowed her at all.

"Daniel Jackson has been taken by the Touched. I plan on retrieving him when we have found a cure. Here is the blood you asked for, Doctor Fraiser." Teal'c handed her the vials and looked at Oriana with a sad smile. "You are young. It is forgivable for a young one to be frightened in the face of battle. You will be forgiven by the ones you care for in time. Do not fear." His voice was meant to be calming, but it did nothing for Oriana's nerves or her disappointment.

"Has she been this way long?" Doctor Fraiser asked Teal'c as she began to circle around Oriana looking for signs of damage.

"She was barely functional as we made it back to the light side of the planet, but after our return through the gate she has worsened. I feared that perhaps she had become infected, but she shows no signs of the illness. Only this silence she has maintained since arrival and this look of complete unexplainable sadness. Is this normal on your planet?"

"It is, but not as widespread as many would have you believe. These are the signs of depression, or of a mental struggle to cope with the fact that Daniel Jackson was taken by the touched. She is young and I can assure you that she will bounce back, but I'm afraid that her grandfather will be quick to clip her wings in the program. This type of reaction is normal after traumatic situations. Like her time on your planet. She hasn't spoken of her time in captivity with anyone. Do you believe that something more might have happened?"

Oriana heard everything, but it was distanced and barely audible. Her mind drifted to her captors, but it was nothing. They didn't harm her and the women who cared for her were kind to the 'woman child' they all saw as a projection of their own children. No, this was not because of her time as a captive, almost a slave. No this reaction was because she knew what was coming. She'd never be allowed out of her office, if she was even allowed on base. She endangered an entire mission in her hopes to go when she knew that she wasn't ready. Her hand to hand instructor had practically told her she wasn't ready and she went in head first, like always. She endangered Daniel. She pushed to help that poor girl. Teal'c had known better. She thought she knew better than someone trained to do what they were doing. She was at fault. "My Fault." She whispered as she walked forward numbly. "I'm fine." She let out as she made her way towards the empty hallway that housed her tiny office. It was her home away from home, but the newly painted walls did nothing for her. Instead it caused her anger and that anger turned into violence. She turned on the items on her desk and slammed them against the wall. Her screams of anger turning into tears of pain, of loss and finally the picture on her desk made its way into her two hands. Her father. The last picture she had of them together. She was so mad at him the day he died. She didn't mean to yell at him to storm out. She should have been in that room with him. She should have.

"You know, there is nothing you could have done for him, or for Doctor Jackson." Doctor Fraiser's voice permeated Oriana's deepest grief stricken thoughts.

"You don't know anything about him," She said putting down the picture and looking around her office in disgust, "And I could have done something about Daniel. I could have helped, but I froze. I was useless to Teal'c. It was my fault and if you're here to coddle me into believing otherwise you seem to have forgotten that when my grandfather is better that he will punish my insubordination. I'm not as lucky as all of the jar heads on this base seem to think. My consequences are worse than theirs. Because when they fail they don't have to deal with the looks from their families, because their families will never know what they're doing for their country, or better yet for their planet." Oriana looked at the Doctor and her face went basically unresponsive. "Shouldn't you be figuring out how to make things better? I have exams in the morning and if I can't get there, there will be no make-up exam." She said turning her back and examining the destruction in greater detail.

"You should know that if you ever need to talk, I would be more than willing to do so. I know what it's like not being able to talk to people about what happens here, but I have enough clearance that anything bothering you can be discussed with me. If you ever want a little girl chat that doesn't involve Samantha Carter giving you a lecture about joining the military." Doctor Fraiser added as she left the room.

"If I ever want to be coddled I'll make sure to find you."

***X*X***

"Miss. Hammond, I was sent to bring you to General Hammond's Office." A young man, the same jarhead who was teaching her to fight, said as he looked around the destroyed office judgmentally. "Doctor Fraiser was able to isolate a cure and he wishes to speak to you."

"I will be there in a moment. I'm trying to finish the last of my astronomy assignment." She said not even bothering to look up from her assignment or the computer she'd managed to have brought to her office.

"He said in no uncertain terms that you were to be brought to him immediately, Miss. I do not mean to be disrespectful, but I have no intention of facing a court martial for you. Or any military brat that doesn't know their place" The jar head said his stance calm and professional as if he hadn't had her pinned under her hours before.

"No need to get your boxers in a twist, sir." Oriana mocked as she stood up avoiding the rumble as she walked around the desk and followed the jar head to the office. In her idiocy she didn't notice the three men surrounding her in a way that indicated exactly what was going on.

"I'd appreciate if you didn't discuss the state of my undergarments. I don't wear boxers," He moved closer to her as they reached the door, "In Fact," He whispered, "I'm not wearing anything at all." He smirked as he walked away leaving a flustered Oriana at the door to General Hammond's Office.

"Come in and shut the door." He said not looking up from his paper work.

"Grandpa, I…"

"Sit down and keep your mouth shut. I have a few things I need to say to you and no amount of pouting is going to fix it." He crossed his hands across the paper work as her eyes began trying to pear at it. "I understand that you thought you were going to be helpful on the last mission. That was obviously not the case. Not only did you freeze at the site of an injured person you, but also froze when there was a clear and present danger. Oriana, there is only so much I can do for you and the more you resist the less I'll be able to do." He looked at her with disappointment, but the concern wasn't hidden that deep. "I mean, who in the Sam-hell do you think you are getting permission from me when you knew I was probably already compromised. You know better than that. It's like you asking one parents permission knowing they'll say ask the other and vice versa. It's manipulative and you're father raised you better than that."

"I just wanted to help!" Oriana said exasperated.

"Do you think it helped? Teal'c having to worry about how to get you back through the Star Gate when you became unresponsive. I'm sorry, but from now on your grounded. No more meetings, unless invited, no more being in the gate room. You'll do your hand to hand combat, you'll do your civilian things and you'll go home. No more and certainly no less. If you step another toe out of line you'll be packing your office and I'll send you as far away from this place and alien encounters that you'll think area 51 is a myth. Dismissed."

Oriana reached over and her eyes were pleading, "Grandpa, please…I…"

"I said Dismissed!"

***X*X***

**AN: So first I want to apologize for the amount of time it's taken me to post this chapter. It really gave me a road block, as well as life hitting hard fast and unforgiving. By road block I mean that it really was a bad writers block that had me wishing I'd never thought up this idea. On the upside a review I got the other day from debookworm1 that knocked me out of my funk and made me realize that I needed to force my way out. So I did and here you go. Since I've been working on it on and off for a month I apologize for choppiness. The chapter was necessary to character development and now we move on with the show. I'd love reviews They mean love! **


	4. Cold Lazarus

**Disclaimer: I realize I forgot my disclaimer….sooo….I do not own anything but my original character! But if I did I'd share!**

Cold Lazarus

"All you have to do is step one toe out of line." Oriana murmured her mind drifting to the Harry Potter book that had been published only a few weeks ago wondering if he'd read Mrs. Weasley's howler to Ron. The childishness of the book brought a smile to her face she could see those books becoming a legend and had no problem adding to the author's sale of the book since it was quite enjoyable and honestly an easy read for someone of her…she stopped herself. That was the kind of thing that got her in trouble. Always mouthing off about how smart she was, but that didn't stop the mishap a few weeks back. No, in fact that had probably been the cause of her bull headed move. Thinking she was ready to help with field work. She sighed as she entered the room for her training only to see it empty. _Again_. "I'm not going to play this game, Sebastian. And yes, I did call you by your first name." She added sitting down in the center of the room.

"You can't do that here. You know that if your grandfather find out that we chill when we're not stuck here he'll send one of us away." The jar head who Oriana quickly learned was Sebastian whispered as he sat across from her. "We should be practicing. You're getting better, but you're pushing yourself too hard. I could feel the knots the last time I…"

"Sebastian, Why are you so ashamed? We've hung out, so what. It's not like anything's happened. Besides, why can't we be friends? You're only twenty-two and let's be honest, it's not like I'm under eighteen." Oriana added standing up frustrated and flustered. "I don't think he'd mind." She crossed her arms and made her way across the gym to begin punching the bags which they had set out weeks prior for practice.

"It's not that I'm ashamed…"His words drifted. He'd gotten to know the spunky girl who was trying her hardest to find a place her at Stargate Command and he had been pleasantly surprised that she wasn't as privileged as he thought. Her intelligence had made her seem snobby, but the truth of the matter was he thought she was hot. Watching her attack the punching bags in practice had made him act and since then he'd been seeing her secretly, but something in his gut was telling him to back off. This wasn't right. "Oriana, I know how much this command means to you. If your grandfather thought that you were in a position that made you vulnerable to…to" He was behind her now and his head was buried in her neck.

"I don't think this is going to work if you're so afraid of him. I don't think that stepping a toe out of line includes or even meant having friends in the command that I spend my free time with. I don't want to have to sneak around. So either you stop being a coward about my grandfather or you forget that we were becoming anything. I'm not the kind of girl that does secrets. I have enough of them in my life that my relationships are the last thing I want to be even more secretive. It's not a crime." She said pulling away from Sebastian and moving on to her next exercise.

"Ori..."

"I'm not playing games. That's not the kind of person I am and if you've paid attention to any of our conversations you would understand that. I really thought you were different, but perhaps I was wrong." She gave him a look that was cold as ice as she continued to work through her daily warm-ups. It was mind numbing exercise that kept her from wondering what was going on in the gate room. She hadn't been invited to meetings since the incident where she'd gone against her grandfather's orders. She missed it. She'd seen less of Daniel and her crush had diminished. She realized that a grown man would have no interest in a woman who couldn't follow even the simplest of orders. Or a woman that put him in danger.

"Wait, Ori." Sebastian followed behind her like a lost puppy and his bad boy jar head attitude was beginning to be lost on her. The more he followed her the more she wished he'd disappear. "I'll talk to him, okay? Just don't jump to conclusions okay? We have fun. Last weekend we did that really cool bowling thing and the weekend before that we watched movies and laughed. It's fun and I don't want it to be over."

Oriana looked at Sebastian and nodded. Her eyes looked by him and noticed her grandfather standing in the corner. "Hi, grandpa." Oriana said softly walking by Sebastian her hand on his shoulder as she met eyes with him before following her grandfather out of the room.

"I see that you've become quite close with your mentor." He stated firmly as they continued to walk towards his office. "Yes sir, Sebastian and I have been spending time together away from SGC and have plans to continue to do so."

"I wasn't trying to reprimand you, Oriana. I'm glad that you've made friends." He said as they reached his office. "I actually wanted to talk to you about your biological fam…"

Oriana looked at him and the glowing look she'd had not five minutes prior faded. "We've been over this grandpa. I'm done looking for something that obviously doesn't exist."

"Oriana, I know that it's hard for you to accept all of the dead ends, but the truth of the matter is that, maybe you haven't been looking where you're supposed to be looking." General Hammond was playing with the file in his hands.

"I don't care. I have no interest in discussing this any further. You are my family. There is no one else who is worth searching for. If they were worth it then they wouldn't have left me abandoned in an orphanage with no memory of my past. I won't play that game anymore. I will keep the necklace and the grandfather clock because for some reason I have an impossible to explain obsession with them. I don't understand anything in my life before the two years I spent as part of your family. Are you trying to take that away from me? Because of one mistake, on a pile of other mistakes I've made?"

"Oriana, you're over reacting. We're family and you know that I love you just as much as I love your cousins. I just want you to have the satisfaction of knowing your own history. There is a story there if you can find it and I'm sorry to say it's relatively important that you find it, on your own." He paused and put the file back in his desk. He was aware that the longer he waited the worse the blow up would be, but this had gone on long enough. "Why don't you come to the meeting at 0900. You've been doing well with your rules and I suppose I should reward good behavior." He said motioning for the door and for her to run along to the briefing room.

"Of course." Oriana stood stubbornly, but her mind wandered to whatever he had been playing with while they had been talking. Did he know more about her then her father did? Why was her life some big puzzle? She was tired of secrets and stuff like this was keeping her from an ordinary life. She had no intention of following the bait. He knew how to get her working, but this time she wasn't going to fall for it. She walked to the briefing room and sat quietly. Unlike her usual manner she sat in a way that made her look much more grown up and less like a child on Christmas morning. She was losing her spunk for the program because she'd no longer be involved in any of the prep work for missions. She wasn't waiting on edge this time and it was obvious to those around her. "Was it a relatively quiet mission, Doctor Jackson?"

"Oriana, we've had this discussion before you can call me Daniel." Daniel said softly. He could see her regret and she'd done a good job avoiding him in the weeks since the incident, but he had wanted her to know that he wasn't angry with her. He understood, but she seemed to be as stubborn and bull headed as the military on this base.

"I should learn to respe…"

"I was serious, Oriana. I don't blame you for what happened on that mission. You weren't ready and you froze. You thought you could help. I thought you could help. Everyone has forgiven you, but yourself. We miss the pep in your step and your zeal to learn more about these new planets." He tried coaxing her out of her shell. "Shouldn't you be thinking of a new measurement of time? You were right about time being measured differently in places that don't have our sun. Maybe that can be your little pet project when you aren't…"

"I think you've been watching too much Star Trek, Daniel. There is no such thing as a Star Date, and honestly you've kinda just shown your geekiest quality." Oriana giggled a bit as Daniel's smiled widened. "Oh admit it, you loved Star Trek growing up and it made you wonder about first contact and space and aliens. There is nothing wrong with that, I promise."

"Let's begin." Hammond's voice was terse and to the point. It was obvious that there was something on his mind, but no one was stupid enough to bring it up.

"The samples we brought back are being analyzed, and we explored a ten kilometer radius around the Gate without finding any sign of recent Goa'uld mining activity. In fact, there's no indication that Goa'ulds or anyone else have been through that Gate in a thousand years." Carter said looking around the room back and forth between the Hammonds and to Jack who is observing the gate room as opposed to paying attention to what she had to say.

"Do you think I might be able to sit in on those tests? It might be interesting to know why the Goa'uld haven't cultivated the planet. It's rare to see them abandon a place so completely." Oriana tried to smile through the irritation. She realized she didn't want to be here, but it wasn't because she wasn't interested. It was because she knew that they'd allow her to listen to the conversation because nothing had happened. They were treating her like a child and as much as she tried they couldn't erase what she'd done. They'd never forgive her, never in a way that meant something.

"You'd be more than welcome, but your security clearance has been lowered kid. I thought you'd been told. Your grandfather was ordered to lower your clearance because of the…" Jackson struggled with the correct words for the situation. He knew that anything he said would hurt her feelings, but he didn't want to ruin her enthusiasm.

"Because of my mistake. Because I froze, or because no one on this base thinks I'm adult enough to handle adult situation because of one little childish mistake when my grandfather and everyone else I cared for were at risk for something that wasn't affecting me. And when we tried to figure it out they were forbidden from taking my blood." Oriana stood up and pushed away from the table angrily.

"Oriana, they didn't do it to hurt you. You need to calm down. I know that it's a bit of a harsh punishment, but it's for your own safty. After Sam and I figure out if it's dangerous we'd love to discuss our findings with you and hear your own hypotheses. You're a brilliant mind and someday you'll be a brilliant scientist, but for now there are people who can't accept your age. And some that think you have preference because of…well because of your grandfather." Jackson seemed to have a hold of the situation, but the kicker was that her typical defender was oddly silent.

Oriana lowered her head and tried to hide the tears in her eyes. Jack wasn't defending her. She was confused. He always defended her and helped her get through situations like this and he was staring into the gate room as if she didn't exist. "Jack?" She said softly, but still he ignored her. The tears that she'd been fighting back started to prickle and silently stream down her face. Perhaps she'd pushed hard enough and they'd finally realized she'd never belong. Her she was having a pity party when she was one of the luckiest girls in the world. Her mind drifted to high school. How lucky she'd been to have friends let alone one of her friends from the orphanage to have classes with. She missed him, but she couldn't go back to Georgia. If she went back down south she'd never see the SGC again. That's what her grandfather was hinting at. He wanted to her to go chase the mystery of her memory loss so that she'd forget about the mystery that is SGC.

"Oriana?" General Hammond watched his eldest grandchild with caution. He recognized those looks from when she was younger. She was feeling unwelcome and that wasn't their intention. He simply wanted them to help her grow as a person and hopefully go someplace other then here. This place would destroy her. He could see it already. She spent more time here than with her own social life. Slowly she'd become a recluse and he wouldn't allow it. "Why don't you head home? I think we're done here and I'm sure you have age appropriate plans."

"Yes, with my nonexistent friends." Oriana snapped her eyes sending him her iciest glare. Pulling away from everything she looked at the tabled sadly realizing that Teal'c had also practically ignored her presence. She sighed looking at her watch as she finally made her way out of the room and back into the hallway where she was unsurprised to find guards to escort her back to her office. Things had progressed to an intolerable awkwardness. She needed to get out of her, but first she needed to find her marine. She needed him to just go with her. Anywhere but here. "I realize you need to be my escort, but can you tell me is Sebastian is still on duty?"

"I'm sorry, Miss. Hammond, but he's been temporarily assigned to training new recruits in a secluded facility."

"Till when?" She asked her face falling.

"Till you leave the base and never come back." His voice was cruel, angry and obviously envious. "Unless you plan on keeping your little boyfriend from having to do his part in the training of the new away teams, because we all know you get anything you want."

Oriana felt her heart break even more when she realized how serious he was being. They actually thought that her grandfather would bend over backwards to make her feel welcome. They didn't even realize that she was being iced and Sebastian's relocation was part of this. He wanted her gone. And she'd be damned if she left on her own accord. "I don't know what you're problem is and I don't care. I was asking where Sebastian was because I need a ride home. And he's one of the only ones with the clearance to know where General Hammond lives when on leave. Now, do you plan on telling me where I can find him or are you going to continue and judge me because of who my grandfather is and who you think I'm meant to be without getting to know me?" Her voice was silent, but her anger could kill if she knew how to properly utilize the tools Sebastian had gifted her. Her mind was lost in the moment till she saw Jack. Teal'c was ready to explore the world they called home with his baseball cap and Jack turned him down. Something was wrong, but she didn't know what. She made a mental note to show Teal'c her favorite places when she could. He was a good man and she knew he'd enjoy a day out. "Actually, I think I'm fine on my own. I'll see myself out. If my grandfather inquires tell him I've gone to have a social life." She said bitterly as she started down the same hall she'd seen Jack disappear to.

***X*X***

"Where are you going, Jack?" Oriana whispered as she watched him watching a woman she didn't recognize. They seemed familiar, but she wasn't close enough to hear what they were discussing. When he went into the house she carefully crept to what could be described as the Kitchen window. She saw the woman and noticed that her expression went back and forth between anger and sadness. A look that she knew well: the woman was mourning. The question was who? Who was she? Who was she mourning and why was Jack here? The better question was why did Jack illicit this emotional reaction from this strange beautiful woman?

"If you were trying to spy on an ex-military wife you're not doing a very good job, girl."

Oriana's eyes widened when she realized the window had been opened. She had the decency to be embarrassed, but in her heart she knew she had to do this. Something was wrong with Jack and this woman had something to do with it. She wanted her Jack back. "I'm sorry; I just….I'm worried about Colonel O'Neill. He means a lot to me and he's been acting strange since he returned from a mission last night." She said trying to sound as official as possible, but she was aware that because of how much she cared for Jack her emotions tended to cloud her judgment. "I'm Oriana Hammond." She said off-handedly hoping that this woman had no intention of calling the police. She knew the consequences of trespassing and had no intention of being reamed out for it.

"Come on in. It's obvious that I'm not going to be able to scare military personal away. Though you seem a bit young to be in the military. You can't be more than eighteen." She said softly. The sad look on the woman's face

"I'm not military. I'm part of the science team that he protects. Says I need more protection than anyone else, because he won't let me have a gun. Sebastian says I'm more than capable of learning how to use one, but Colonel O'Neill won't let them teach me. Keeps taking away the dummy guns I get from them. And stops talking to me for days, but today he didn't say a word to me and I didn't even have a dummy gun. I just…I want to know why he's changed."

"I'm Sarah. How old are you? And where are your parents?" Sarah asked motioning with her head to the back door.

"I'm eighteen, and I never had a mother. I was adopted when I was sixteen and I have no memory of my life before then. My dad passed away in a fire almost a year ago. I live with my grandfather General Hammond." She said softly as she slipped into the room. "How do you know Jack?"

"I'm his ex-wife. We had a son he'd be about your age if he…"she breathed deep and Oriana noticed the sadness. "I'm sorry, it's not something that I really like to talk about. He killed himself with Jack's gun. Jack never stopped blaming himself and he had never been careless with his gun. He doesn't like children carrying guns and I understand why." She observed Oriana momentarily before nodding at her to head into the living room.

Oriana saw Jack, but something in the back of her mind was bothering her. "Are you sure this is Jack? He'd be over reacting about me being here if it really was him…" Her voice drifted off as she observed the man in front of her. "I'm sorry for your loss. Maybe you should try to fix it together. When my dad died it was my grandpa that helped me through it."

"How about you join us at the park, but I'd like to talk to him first." Sarah said as she led Jack out her arm linked in his.

Oriana watched them and followed as if she was observing some kind of forbidden interaction between two people who were too stubborn to say that they love each other. It was obvious how Sarah felt for him, but with Jack acting as if he'd forgotten the last few years she didn't know how to handle the situation. In her heart she felt that she should leave them be, but something was off and it wasn't in her nature to run away from a challenge and Jack's sudden obstusness was a challenge she'd accept.

"I'm waiting for you to say "I'm sorry"….or….."I want to get back together"…or justwhatever's on your mind, anything, just talk to me." Sarah looked at him as she settled down on the edge of the picnic table.

"The first time we were together is this where we came?" Jack's response seemed to puzzle Sarah and Oriana wished she could be a fly on the wall, but her romantic side decided that they deserved privacy. Perhaps Jack might be allowed to be happy again. Perhaps this woman could fix him. "You're angry."

Oriana watched the conversation and sighed. She felt like a child sneaking around to know what her parents were talking about, but was this what it felt like. She hadn't realized that Jack had began to fulfill that father role that was so empty in her own life. The void that her grandfather tried to fill on a daily basis and failed. In her musings she missed the angry Sarah's reaction to Jacks comments, but looked up in time to see Jack on the ground and blue bolts of energy attacking him from his core. "Sarah, Don't touch him!" Oriana screamed out running to them her training slipping out the window and concern for the man taking over. "We need to get him to the hospital."

***X*X***

"Charlie…"

Sarah and Oriana look at Jack with frowns on their faces. Oriana's thoughts drifted from denial to PTSD, but in her mind she knew what it was like to lose someone and the guilt that wretched through could of, would of, should ofs. The horrible what if's that dominate every waking moment. Had Jack spent so much time asking what if that he had finally cracked? Did he wonder what his son would look like? Were they that close in age that she was a constant reminder of what he no longer had?

"This is the place we brought him."

"Yes it is." Sarah looked at Oriana as if urging her to say something or to step out, because the next comment would destroy them both.

Jack sits up and looks at the woman surrounding him. "He died here."

"Yes, he did. Jack, what's happening to you?" Sarah asked as if avoiding what was really going on. She missed her son as much as him, but she couldn't lose him too. Not now when they'd talked so seriously for the first time in so long. How long had the conversation at the park been hanging unwelcome in the air? Had her anger really been the reason he'd left, because he thought she blamed him, or maybe it was his anger at the situation that drove him away. Back into the military. To a divorce when they could be living happily for the sake of their sons memory. Charlie wouldn't want them to be angry at eachother.

"I have to get to the Stargate. Can we do that?"'

Oriana perked up at the mention of the Stargate, but again remained silent. The awkwardness of the situation was becoming unbearable.

"Jack, I know you want to get to the Stargate….but…"

Sarah was interrupted as Jack was slammed back into the bad with the bolts of energy radiating from him. Sarah's hands receiving a shock as she stammered back trying to avoid them running from the room. "Oriana!" She called for her to follow, but Oriana watching as Jack twitched in agony.

She stood there wanting to do nothing more than hug the man. She wouldn't leave him. She couldn't leave him. No one deserves to die alone, but why was he dying. Unless he was exposted to something on the planet, but they'd said it was a relatively boring mission. She would have chuckled at the fact that SG-1 attracts trouble like flies to honey, but it didn't seem like the moment to be giggling. Not when the one person who she could comfort was sitting there in agony. "Jack, it's going to be okay. Please hold on. I'll get a hold of Daniel and Carter. They'll fix this. They always do. Remember when the illness over took you and you held on. I need you to do that again, Jack. Please."

"Oriana?" The real Jack said astonished at the girl sitting at barely a safe distance from the alien that had taken his form. "Hey, it's all right. I'm not going to hurt you." He places his pistol on the ground and looks back at Oriana urging her to go, but she did not move.

"Please…stay back. I …. Do not want to…harm you…again. My energy…is about to…" The alien Jack said as a scream ripped through his throat. Throwing the real Jack and everyone else back including Oriana who had been closest to the blast, which sent her flying against the wall knocking the wind out of her and causing the back of her head to be split open by the wall.

"Radiation has dropped." Carter said looking at the device she managed to pick up after staggering back to her feet.

"O'Neill…are you alright?" Teal'c asked looking at the woman child that had so stubbornly rushed into danger without thinking of the consequences to her own person. Again.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Oriana?"

Oriana muffled a response trying to hide the pain that was obviously emanating from the back of her head. "fine…hurts." She felt like a child who'd skinned her knee, but she had no intention of showing her age more than necessary.

"What's happening?"Carter asked as the lights began to come back on.

The radio responded, "We've got twenty percent emergency power."

"Radiation is low enough. We should be alright." Carter says as SG-1 removes their hazmat gear.

"You have come to destroy me." The alien Jack sounded so sad and alone. Oriana's heart ached for him.

"No. That's not true." Jack said as he moved to the alien and kneels in front of him. "I know you weren't trying to kill me back on the planet. The Goa'ulds— the people who destroyed your race—they're our enemies too."

"I…understand…thank you."

"Why did you come here?" Jack asked sadly.

"When my energy hurt you…I tried…to heal you. But I did not understand your…injury. So I looked in…to your mind. I saw the mind…of a warrior. I feared it, as I feared those who destroyed my race. I tried to make you well…before my mistake was discovered; before the others returned to…destroy me. I understand now. Your deepest pain was not the physical…injury I had caused. Your pain was from an empty place in your heart where Charlie once was. I thought if I could bring Charlie to you, it would make you well. I did not understand his death meant he could no longer exist as flesh and blood. Physical death…does not have the same meaning…to us."

"Are you dying now?" Jack asked softly observing the scene in front of him. He had never felt as exposed to the people around him as he did in that moment. Not many knew of the pain that lingered in her heart because of his son. A void that Oriana had unknowingly begun to fill, but her headstrong behavior led to moments where he remembered that she was not Charlie and she could never be Charlie.

"Yes. I could not bring Charlie to you. Not even the woman child can do this for you. I am sorry."

"Charlie's gone."

"No…He's…in here." The alien Jack said placing his hand on the real Jack's heart morphing into Charlie. The way he'd looked before he'd died.

"Charlie?" Jack looks stunned.

Oriana's heart clenches as she realizes that all this time she'd been following the alien to know Jack more than she was meant to.

"You cannot change what happened that day, just as I cannot change the day that the Goa'uld destroyed my world. I am showing you what of Charlie is still there…inside you." The silence between them is staggering as if they are having a silent conversation that know one is the room would ever be allowed to be privy to. A private moment between father and son. Even if the son was simply a projection of what had been.

"Jack….Jack…" Daniel said softly not wanting to separate the two. He knew this pain. His Shar'e was still missing, but he still held to the hope that he'd be reunited with her. Jack would never have this options.

"Radiation's still low, but I don't know for how long." Carter said watching the radiation meter in her hand.

"We have to go." He said to Alien Charlie.

"Is Sarah O'Neill still here?" The alien Charlie smiled at Jack taking his hand and following him out into the hall.

"Yes."

"Chopper's inbound." Carter said after listening to the murmer of the radio.

"You guys go ahead."

Oriana looked at them part of her longing to stay.

"Not you, Oriana." Jack whispered as him and Alien Charlie approach Sarah who is standing alone in the hall. "Sarah."

"Oh my God….."

"It's not Charlie." He said firmly not wanting her to get her hopes up. "Sarah…I have to get him back."

Sarah nods, "To the Stargate?"

"Yeah."

Sarah holds back tears as O'Neill wraps her in his arms. Alien Charlie moves and stands next to Oriana. They both stand there and watch with sympathetic expression.

Finally, they pull apart. O'Neill caresses her face with one hand while she watches him, then breaks contact. He takes the alien Charlie's hand and walks through the door, leaving Sara standing there. She turns to watch them depart. "Take care of yourself, Jack." She whisperes looking at Oriana standing back awkwardly. "You make sure he takes care of himself."

"I'll make sure he calls you. You both have a lot to discuss and it would be better if it was done in private." Oriana said softly as she was being ushered from the hall by more military personal.

"Oriana Hammond?" A lower ranked military man asked.

"Yes?" She said confidently, but the envelope in his hand was enough. They'd told her grandfather.

"You're to report to your grandfather's office immediately after you've been checked over by the SGC medical team. I was told to give you this and that I was then to escort you to the chopper."

Oriana rolled her eyes and allowed herself to be escorted like a lamb to the slaughter.

***X*X***

"What the samhell were you thinking?" General Hammond's voice echoed his office and out the open door. He knew that taking away the privacy of the situation was more of a punishment then the ass chewing he was about to dish out, but he didn't care. He was furious. She'd done it again, but this time she'd been injured.

"I wasn't thinking, obviously. Or at least that's what you're about to tell me. I didn't mean for anything to happen. Jack was acting weird and my gut instinct was telling me that I needed to follow him and make sure everything was okay. I'm sorry if it was an inconvenience, but I wasn't going to let something happen to him!" She screamed back. Any restraint she had previously was lost, because she didn't know how to handle the emotions welled up inside of her chest.

"You will watch your tone with my young lady! You are not too old to put over my knee and I swear that you will rue the day you disrespected me and this office. You will sit down and shut up, because it's time you leave the Stargate program and no begging or pleading is going to prevent me from sending you away." He sat down calmly at his desk and pulled out three or four thick folders and calmly placed them in front of her. "You've been accepted to Oxford and Cambridge as well as some smaller colleges scattered throughout England. The education system there is a bit more challenging and perhaps these accusations of cheating will be left in the dust." He sighed and waited for the fall out.

"You did what? How do these schools even know I exist? I've never applied for them and I've never even considered them. I am fine at the community college I've been attending for months and I have no intention of leaving. I belong here." She said firmly pushing the folders back at her grandfather. He was sending here away. He didn't want her anymore. She would have no place to go if he decided that her threats were useless. She wouldn't leave. She couldn't leave. Too many things meant something to her here.

"I sent your application months ago with letter of recommendations from the president." He said smirking at her reaction. "He proclaims you to be a prodigy of our nation and wishes you to be well rounded so that you can rejoin our scientific community and be mutually beneficial to both countries." He handed her another envelop. "That's your passport. I'm not giving you a choice, Oriana. You need to go to Great Britian. There may not be many clues about your past, but there is one. You will find someone there that will trigger your memory, but then again you might have lost that chance. I suppose if it has that's my fault. I didn't want to let you go and now I don't have another option. You're my granddaughter and I'm trying to do what's best for you, but if you hate me for it then so be it. But maybe someday you'll forgive me and you'll realize that your time overseas was for the best. You'll not be coming home on holidays either I'm afraid. It's far to expensive and it would be far too tempting for you to try to work your way back into SGC. Your plan leaves in three hours. Your aunt has had your cousins working for the last two hours to have you ready to go. I've set up a bank account for anything that gets left behind and you'll be given an allowance once a month. I'm not cutting you off. I'm just making sure that you have the education you deserve."

AN: So this is my apology/explanation. I was hit hard core by finals and illness. I had been fighting with tonsillitis on and off since December and it escalated to the point that I missed more classes then I could. While one would think that would mean more time for writing it really meant more time for cramming because my finals were so hard that I was losing my mind. The upside is that now I've had surgery and all health problems should be poof. Now I understand the ending leaves you wondering what the heck happens now? But that'll be answered soon. I'm on summer vaca so I'll be updating as soon as the chapter is written and reread to make sure there aren't any plot holes. ALSO I apologize if it's seems choppy, but I wrote this in the car. 3 Lots of Love. Please Review it inspires me!


	5. 20042006

How had she gotten here? Ori couldn't quite figure out how this wasn't a joke. But her chest was tight and eyes stung but she was too proud and angry to cry over the betrayal. Refused to cry over the fact that no one, not even Jack, had fought for her, or even come to the airport to say goodbye. So yes, she was bitter, and betrayed. The thought of them not knowing hit her like a ton of bricks. Did they even know? Part of her didn't care, because right now she was stuck on a plan for over ten hours. Sure it was first class, but that wasn't going to assuage her. Not even the fact that it was a direct flight could mask the fact that she was already stir crazy two hours in.

She was sure the man next to her was ready to strangle her. She'd spent the last two hours changing the position of her sit fidgeting with her laptop and banging her head against her tray table. She was hungry, but didn't feel like bothering the flight attendants as well. She was sure they knew she didn't belong in the more upscale part of the plane. What with her attitude and lack of finesse when it came to plane etiquette but she was done. She was beyond done. Not even her angry punk music could change her miserable mood.

Her laptop was shining brightly in the dim cabin, but she couldn't help but look at the pictures of the people she was leaving behind. Three hours after her refusal to cry the tears rolled slowly down her face. She wasn't sobbing, because she had more dignity then to sob in front of hundreds of strangers, but she was crying. The tears were the cold tears of anger and betrayal, but they were also the tears of someone who was done. She was done with them. She'd find a way to come back and when she did she'd make sure no one recognized her. She was done being the little girl they all felt pity for. The replacement for a man who'd lost his son, she'd learn to shoot to spite him, the silly girl with a crush on the too smart for his own good scientist, she'd surpass him and prove to him that she was a woman not a little girl. Then there was her grandfather. To him she'd prove that he had no right to do this to her. She'd make him regret her being far away and most of all he's prove that this was a wild goose chase. If her past was in England she'd find it, but she knew in her heart it couldn't be. She'd given up long ago any hope of discovering her mysterious past and this was just another dead end that she had no intention of allowing to break her. After crying silently for hours she drifted off to sleep. Sleep was a place where her memories plagued her and where a girl with brilliant red hair ran around happily chasing the girl with grey eyes.

Oriana woke with a fright to a flight attendant shaking her awake. "Are you okay, miss?"

Oriana looked around and could feel the eyes of the strangers looking at her from all sides. Her dream was fuzzy, as they always were, but the feeling of falling and falling and falling as if she would fall for eternity and the fingers of a hand without blemish crushing her windpipe as she struggled to focus on the man in front of her was something that she couldn't quite shake. Looking up at that man who's haunted her dreams for years with eyes that were mad, but even the madness couldn't taint the beautiful shade of blue, a blue she'd read about in fairy tales and heard belonged where the sky met the ocean, was something she wished she could forget. She'd had similar nightmares in the past, but she'd always awoken before reaching the bottom of the stairs. Perhaps she should stop trying to remember. "Sorry, nightmare." She mumbled embarrassed looking apologetically at the people she'd woken up with her scream.

She sighed when she realized she was only seven hours into the flight. With three hours left to go she turned on her laptop and began work on another one of her "fantasy" theories. She sighed looking at the pages and pages of research on "space time". Her conversation with Daniel earlier in the week about Star Trek had been the spark, of course Sebastian's obsession with Star Trek: Enterprise and his desire to create a "Trekkie" out of her, where she preferred the original Star Wars Trilogy, hadn't helped the spark. In fact the current theory of time and space had her thinking that maybe time needed a new measurement. Surely time couldn't be measured by their years and their sun. That was too Geocentric, or in reality Heliocentric and while she was sure every planet would like to think themselves the center. She was not as arrogant to believe that Earth, as the child it was, had the right. It was funny how often she thought that her own theories were created from watching one to many science fiction movies with her boyfriend, or rather ex-boyfriend, she'd never forgive him for not giving her the heads up. She sighed again as she highlighted all ten pages before clicking delete a blank word document and an angry blinking cursor flashing back at her. "Oh shut up," she mumbled to the cursor, "It's not as if any of it was concrete enough to not be considered crazy."

The man next to her smiled as he noticed her blank page, "I see you're ready to start college. My sister was the same. She'd write pages and pages of work and the delete it because she didn't like a word of it. Perfectionist that one, what do you plan on majoring in?" He asked nicely.

"I'm so over college. I was at a community college near my grandfather's house, and it didn't go according to plan. They don't take well to their intelligence being insulted. I was a little over what they normally accept and they accused me of cheating and such. Not something that sits well with most colleges in the US. It took all of my grandfather's connections to get me accepted into a school overseas. I don't doubt that showing them my quality of work helped, but I don't like being sent away because people are sensitive of their own short comings." She said smiling lightly.

"You seem to know what you're capable of though. I'm surprised that it took connections. Surely you handled the situation correctly when dealing with the cheating accusations?" He said a little taken back by her arrogant tone.

Oriana wanted to slam her head against the nearest wall. She'd sounded arrogant. She hadn't meant to. She wanted to sound confident, even if being shipped away destroyed any ounce of confidence she had, and instead she sounded like a stuck up little princess from the Upper East Side. "Sorry, I sounded a bit like a snob just now. I didn't exactly handle the situation correctly. I don't like being accused of anything let alone cheating. My records speak for themselves and when they accused me of cheating on an Introduction to Astronomy test I kind of went off on the professor and the dean. I didn't mean to, but it wasn't taken lightly. Less when you lie about who you've brought with you. I brought my grandfather's employee. One Samantha Carter, because my grandpa has a temper, and that got me in more trouble than him being there. That's mostly because he showed up and demanded I explained myself." She shook her head at the memory. Her short lived attendance at the school had been a bit more than her grandpa was used to. She can't imagine what it would have been like if he'd seen the trouble she'd gotten up to in high school. She couldn't thank her dad enough for his patience with her. She'd been so much of a nucense. She remembered the last time she'd sounded arrogant. The black eye that she could never really explain away. Not that she'd tried. Who'd want to hide a bullying problem from her parent? A single parent that had, thankfully and willingly, pulled her, a nobody, from an orphanage even though she was past the 'adoptable' age. A girl with no memory and yet perfectly well adapted in a school setting. She didn't remember who she was but she remembered everything about math and science as if it had been drilled in her head from birth. The mystery that was Oriana Jones, that what they'd called her before she'd been adopted by her father what she'd been called before she was a Hammond. Sometimes she wondered about her past, but other times she'd wished she could forget. Moments like this when she was arrogant and remembered how High School had beaten that arrogance out of her. Or perhaps it was the one and only visit she'd made to New York when her father was still alive. Viewing the Upper East Side from the view of someone who wasn't a socialite and never wanted to be, but those boys sure made her want to change her mind about the rich and famous. She'd begged that once to move and her father looked at her as if she'd grown an abnormality on her head. Memories like that kept her going. How her father would smile at her when she made up a silly theory or idea and worked her hardest to prove it. Two years of bliss that went up in smoke. Why did she have to remember that now? The fire wasn't her fault. Being sent away was not her fault. She was just misunderstood. Her father understood her. Why couldn't anyone else? How could this man know about her tendencies to be a perfectionist and her own grandfather couldn't remember how she liked to be locked in her room when she was inspired. She sighed as the man next to her kept talking. How had she missed his conversation? How long had she been zoning out? And why were her cheeks wet, again?

"Are you okay? I've been asking that for the last half hour. You looked like you were somewhere else. Like you were going down memory lane or something. I'm Oscar by the way. I do hope you enjoy London. It's best if you take in the sites slowly. Never good to try to do it while you're jetlagged. You'll forget the entire experience that way." The man seemed to take her inattention in stride. It was amusing to Oriana that the man wasn't offended by her lack of attention but comforting that he didn't ask what was wrong only if she was okay.

"I'm okay, just missing my family." She was short and sweet with her comments making known that conversation about her family was off limits. "I hope you don't mind I kind of want to get in as much sleep as I can before we arrive. I know that I'll be jet lagged either way, but I'd rather it happen after a nap. I'm relatively cranky when I don't sleep enough." She said turning away from him curling into a ball and closing her eyes. Thoughts of her father and that damned clock echoing in the foreground of her mind. She fell asleep the minute she closed her eyes. Thankfully this time her sleep was uninterrupted by the horrible nightmares she could never shake. This time she didn't even dream. One minute her eyes were closed and the next she was being woken up because they were landing. She'd missed dinner. That really shouldn't surprise her, but her stomach growling angrily was not a side effect she was pleased with. When they'd landed she was desperate to stretch her legs. Eleven hours on a plane wasn't something she was looking forward to. She should be happy that she'd be forbidden from returning home for the next four years. First things first of course. Head to Cardiff and set her self up in a little studio flat. She had no intention of spending much on it. It didn't need to be big. Only enough room for a desk a bed and some place to cook. She would survive the awkward glances about her age and Americanize way of living later. After she realized that none of this could be accomplished upon arrival. She settled into a little hotel in London ordered room service and went back to bed to deal with the jetlag as it came.

***X*X***

The first few months had been the worst, but now that she looks at it. They were actually the best. After weeks of acting like her childish intelligent self she'd had enough of the looks and decided it was time to grow up. She cut her hair for the first time since joining SGC and the bangs she'd sported all of her college life were gone. Instead she used them to frame her face and her short pixie hair was perfect for what she wanted. Her jeans and tshirts were replaced with more high fashion. Her allowance was grandeur then she'd imagined it 'd be, but she imagined that was the side effects of her grandfather's guilt. She wore slakes more often than not, but on the view occasions she visited her favorite pub the short skin tight pencil skirt had become her best friend. Yes it was still at the knee, but it didn't leave much to the imagination. Her education and classes were going wonderfully. Gone were the looks of superiority that she'd sported at her community college and back were the looks of academic amazement. As the people who were meant to be her superiors actually taught her something. And boy did she love accents. In the last few months she'd discovered just how many accents were around her. Sure she'd lived in the south for a few years, but this was nothing like that. These accents were her kryptonite.

But this day wasn't about accents or professors or anything remotely good. This day was about her grandpa. It was about the phone call she was going to receive and how much she wanted to avoid it. She'd been gone eight months to the day. It was Christmas. She found it hard to believe it had been so long. She'd survived an English Summer and very much enjoyed the English Winter. She'd been on the train to and from London countless times enjoying the culture around her, but in those eight months she'd skillfully avoided all contact with the SGC including her grandfather. She'd made sure that none of them knew what she looked like, but she kept hidden the fact that she'd changed her name. She was done with them. She'd disowned them in her own rebellion. She'd found a way to become a duel citizen, with her credentials that hadn't been too difficult, and was slowly working her way into changing everything that the SGC would remember about her. She hadn't realized it yet, but she'd picked up a bit of an accent. Yes she was still obviously American, but her tendencies had become more British and she was pleased with herself. Her phone ringing brought her back to reality. She couldn't avoid this anymore. If she tried he might cut her off and she enjoyed her lifestyle too much for that. "Hammond." She answered skillfully. Her name change was not something she'd reveal over the phone. If he happened to see her passport then maybe she'd explain it. But in all reality all she'd really done was hyphenate her name. Hammond-Jones. She went by Jones here because they asked less questions. It was a common name kind of like Smith in the US and it gave her another air of mystery.

"Ori, you know by now that answering with your last name isn't going to make me any less willing to talk to you. It was a valiant effort I admit, but really. You've avoided my phone calls for the last eight months. Did you think I'd give up?"

"I was hoping you'd stop calling when you realized I'd yet to forgive you for my forced reassignment. Then again you are the most stubborn man I know." She said unamused by his comments. "Besides it's Christmas, avoiding your phone call on a day dedicated to family would be cruel and I am not cruel." She said she was sure he'd imagine her crossing her arms over her chest like a spoiled child, but that was one mannerism she'd managed to stop.

"I was hoping we could have a civil conversation, but it seems you are hell bent on making this conversation awkward and cumbersome. I apologized via email months ago and yet you still hold that tone of resentment as if I sent you away yesterday. Can't you at least pretend to be happy there?"  
>"No I shan't it's Christmas. I'm allowed to feel as slighted as I'd like on a day you're supposed to spend with family. Oh that's right the only family I had sent me away to be alone for the next four years. Knowing how hard it is for me to make friends. How much I abhor the idea of having to remake my life, or even the fact that I'm living in a studio flat that is so small I have to go to a Pub to get any work done without feeling claustrophobic." She sighed trying to reign in her anger. The one thing she'd yet to curb was the hurt and betrayal she'd felt since she was forced into this new life. Did she love her school? Yes. Would she admit this? No. Did she have a right to be angry? Yes. And she wished he'd understand that. But he was so sure that this was best for her that he believed any anger she felt unnatural and unacceptable. The emails the two had exchanged had become more and more hostile the longer they went on. It had gotten so bad that Oriana had stopped emailing him altogether until the threats of cutting her off got brought into the picture. While she worked weekends at the coffee shop near her flat she had no intention of working enough hours to support herself. Not when her education came first and less likely now when she was actually being challenged.<p>

"How are your classes? You said that one of your professors was helping you with one of your theories?"

His pride wasn't something he could hide. Not even in his anger could he hide that he was right. It was his way of gloating she supposed, but this was one thing she couldn't deny him. Her education here in Cardiff was better than anything she could have received in the US apart from perhaps an Ivy League school on the East Coast. "The theory I started before leaving the SGC is being perfected. Doctor Jackson made the point that we were thinking far too Geocentric to be taken seriously, although I believe the correct term would have been Heliocentric, but I'm not one to correct someone whose already achieved their Doctorate. But that's not important. Yes it's being discussed. No and I don't want to talk about it. And I do believe I've given you my conversation for the holiday. I will talk to you next Christmas. You will receive emails before then as promised. Happy Christmas." She quickly hung up the phone happy and sad to be away from the conversation. She felt the tears on her cheeks and cursed being a woman and being emotional. She didn't want to spend the holiday alone and changed to spend it at the pub. In her mood she'd changed into something a bit more risqué than she'd normally allow herself, but she had no intention of going home alone. Let alone going home at all if she could help it, she'd rather go home with him then bring him back to her smaller than average flat. She spots the same guy she'd been eyeing for weeks hoping he's notice her. Sure she had her confidence back, but this guy. It was obvious that he had a bit of snark that made him even more attractive than the guys that would shower her with compliments. She liked someone who could spar with her, but he looked like the type that wanted a bimbo and that most definitely wasn't her. Not even a night where she needed affection did she want it. She wanted to get laid and if this man was the way to do it without strings then she would. She breathed deeply before heading towards him. "I'm Oriana Jones. And you're going to take me home tonight." She said confidently.

"Dr. Owen Harper." He rose his eye brow at her and offered her a drink.

"Interesting, a doctor offering a girl who's too sober for his taste a drink. Is this an odd occurrence. Random girls asking for you to take them home. You offer them a drink as a way of saying no thank you. Really it's very noble of you."

"American? I know an American. Great man that American, no objections to sexual preference, quite odd how willing he is, but to each their own. Perhaps tonight could be…mutually beneficial. No strings of course. Some good, clean fun." He teased. "I suppose you'd like me to say I don't do this all the time. You're not another pick up line, the normal blah of the etiquette of me getting into your pants, but since you're so willing….Perhaps we should go before you change your mind." He said nibbling on her ear seductively.

Oriana nodded allowing Dr. Owen Harper to lead her away.

***X*X***

She'd never regret the night she spent with one Doctor Owen Harper, but she'd never recall it on purpose. It made going to her favorite pub awkward, because the moment she said no strings she wished she'd taken it back. The sex was good, but the passion was remarkable. She wished she'd thought to converse with him more thoroughly, but since that night she hadn't dared talk to him again. Perhaps her rebellion against her grandfather had made her so bold and perhaps she'd try again next Christmas. Though she doubted he'd be up for a second go. It might be risking strings and he didn't seem the type for strings and with an apartment like his. Oh how she longed for that apartment weeks after seeing it. That bed and those sheets almost made her regret leaving the next morning. He was gone when she woke up. He'd been called away sometime in the night and told her that she was free to stay till morning and he doubted he'd be back. She almost didn't leave. Wanted to wait for him to come back, but she didn't have her laptop and she was in desperate need of entertainment. She had returned home and again erased months' worth of work and started fresh. Her heart hurt, because she wanted to go home. She wanted to sweet jar head boyfriend of hers to hold her in his arms and make her giggle about Star Trek and her love of Star Wars creating a feud in their relationship, but she couldn't bring herself to call him. She'd been here a little over ten months now and finally she was ready to forgive him. He'd have to call her first.

That was the mantra she lived by and it would be till she got the phone call. The phone call that made her hate SGC more then she thought possible. Sebastian was dead. Her grandfather called her, because he couldn't bear the thought of her coming home only to find heart break. He felt pity for her and she could only feel anger. Sebastian died thinking she'd never forgiven him. It was her fault. If she'd been more careful she'd have been home. He'd never have gone on an away mission. She have been able to hug him. He'd hold her while they watched old geeky movies together. She was heartbroken and it reflected in her work. Her straight A's dropped almost immediately. The end of the semester was drawing closer and her perfect 4.0 was fleeting.

After Sebastian's death all she could do was curl up and watch those old geeky movies alone. She'd had a couple one night stands, and it was nothing she was proud of, but she was mourning in her own way. She missed the old her, but refused to go back to that person. That person was weak and she refused to allow such things.

***X*X***

It was October 2005 the next time she spoke to her grandfather. She wanted a letter of recommendation to get a job as an intern on Downing Street in London. She was about to drop out of school and just make her way in the real world. She was tired of it, but he was having none of it. He said that if she was having her 'mid college crises that she should change majors but she was not dropping out of school. He had his way and she kept at it, but she didn't change her major. Instead she went full force and started taking as many classes as they'd allow. She was running herself into the ground and she didn't care. When she wasn't doing homework she was drinking and when she wasn't drinking or doing homework she was sleeping. She wasn't socializing and she wasn't acting the nerd anymore. She was going to show the world that she knew how to have fun.

Her party phase lasted a week. After finding her self vomiting in the bathroom to frequently for her own liking she gave up. She went back to school and did her work, but she didn't party or drink. Any socialization was a moot point if she was going to loose everyone. So she lost herself in her work. She tried once again to discover a way to measure time in space and failed. Her obsession with time was becoming cumbersome and on more than one occasion she'd taken off her broken necklace and forgotten to put it back on. The search for her past was pointless as well. As no matter how hard she tried to look, while pretending she wasn't, she didn't find anyone who knew her past. She went to orphanages thinking maybe they'd transferred her to the states for the isles, but it was hopeless. Nothing added up. Her mystery just grew. It seemed she was doomed to live a half-life. A life where her past was never discovered. A year ago that wouldn't have bothered her, but now when she felt like her own family had abandoned her she felt like without it she was no one. So she kept looking and looking, but nothing turned up. She laughed when she realized the damned song that had led her here was set to a folk song. She laughed even more when sometimes she thought she could remember the voice.

The more she looked the more the nightmares plagued her, but sometimes they weren't nightmares. Sometimes there were snip bits of her, or at least she thought it was here though the red hair girl didn't have red hair anymore and she looked older now with sad eyes, she'd seen the girl in the mirror once. She wondered who they were or if they were a figment of her imagination. She started writing down the thoughts she dreamt and starting thinking of writing a novel. It was hilarious to her. The idea of a world with red hills and silver trees. Sometimes she wondered if someone was drugging her or if the water in the Isle was as tainted as they joked.

The nightmares only served one purpose. She wanted to go home. The more she felt those hands on her windpipe the less she wanted to know about her past. Every time she woke gasping for air she wished she'd never woken up at all. She was depressed and the dreams of her 'death' weren't helping the situation. She had no one to talk to, because she'd yet to reach out to the members of SG-1 and she doubted she ever would. If she came home, or rather when she came home and was reinstituted to SGC she'd act as if she was new. They'd never recognize her anyway. She'd go by Jones. She'd see if they'd forgotten her. Till then she'd suffer the nightmares in the silence of her apartment and wonder why she hadn't gone mad yet. That man with mad eyes always seemed so satisfied to see her die. She wondered if the light faded from her eyes or if they just became emotionless. She wanted to see her death from his eyes and know why she died every night at all. She was sure she had enough creepy dreams to be the subject of someone's thesis, but she had no intention of seeing someone to help her with her 'problems'. She'd deal with it the way any normal person would. By keeping it to herself and by taking pm sleeping pills to sleep dreamlessly. In her mind she was making references to dream less sleep potions, but out loud she was pretending everything was fine.

***X*X***

January 1st, 2006 found her sitting back in that same pub she always found herself in, but this time her usual bartender was gone and in his place was you're not so typical bartender. She had blond hair and in her eyes Oriana wondered why she was bartending in the first place. Her personality, from what she could see, meant she could go to bigger and better places.

"Thinking too hard to order a drink?" The pretty blond bartender asked leaning over the counter in a friendly manner.

She assumed the girl would be working an angle for a good tip. She was a good tipper, but she doubted the previous bartender had told anyone. "That depends if you're going to be a better conversationalist then the last bartender I dealt with. Knew nothing about what I was majoring in and preferred to keep me quite. Said I'd scare away his customers with my talk of higher knowledge. Anyone who's afraid of a good conversation shouldn't be sitting in a pub anyway. If they want to be bemoaning life they should do it in one of the corner booths." She said with a shrug. She saw Owen sitting on the opposite end and realized she was one of those people she'd just criticized. "I'll take whatever girly drink you can come up with. I'm not in the mood to get hammered tonight." She said realizing she'd end up with something like a Cosmo or some other form of American drink. She was wrong. When the bartender, whose name she'd learned was Evie brought her a sweet tea she rolled her eyes. "Non-alcoholic really?"

"Take a sip then if you don't believe me." Evie said returning back to the brooding Owen and a man who had followed him in.

Oriana sipped at her tea and smiled when she felt the vodka kick she needed. Wonderful. This girl deserved quite the tip. The last bartender tried to serve her beer ever time she'd been around. This one at least had taste. Perhaps it was another reason she didn't belong here, but she'd say nothing and keep watching from a distance. She enjoyed watching people interact. She'd seen interactions with Owen though that had make her think twice about the pub she was currently sitting in. She was sure she'd seen an alien a few days later, but swore up and down that it was because she was too drunk. The government couldn't be that careless with it. She knew hers wasn't. Though she was curious to get back in the action this wasn't where she wanted to do it. Her security clearance was still revoked and she'd had to crack a few servers to get any information. Nothing of merit had happened at home. Or if it had they'd upped everything enough to make it look like nothing had. Her grandfather knew her well if they did. Because if that was the case she was clueless and she'd be the one blindsided when she returned home. She still wanted to reach out, but another drink fixed that and kept her silently typing in the corner booth.

She had a new theory. This one had nothing to do with time, but rather with people.

***X*X***

"Back again, Ori? I could have sworn you said you were staying away because of finals?" Evie recognized her. That was never a good sign. Being recognized meant that she was there far more then she thought. Was she spying on Owen? Oh god was she being obvious about it. She doubted they knew why she was really here. She was doing research. It was amusing what she could find out when people thought she wasn't listening. She'd heard rumors on campus about Torchwood. Hard not to when every time something unusual happened the local Leo's were pushed aside for this top secret group to work on things. It wasn't as clean as SGC, but it did it's job. She was writing her thesis on it. She'd never show anyone this version. Instead she'd lock it away and probably forget about it, but she knew it'd help international relations when she returned. She could help patch up the relationship between scientific communities. Maybe have some interscientific cooperation. Though she doubted it. If they were part of Torchwood, they'd never get along with her group at home.

Her group? She was an idiot. They weren't here group they'd never be her group. She was kidding herself. She went to delete the file, but changed her mind. She had a habit of destroying perfectly good work perhaps this time she'd just leave it be. "Yeah, Sorry about that Evie. I just needed a break you know? How about one of those sweet teas you've been making me since we met. It's the only thing that'll take the edge of. You know how it goes. Trying to develop a new measurement of time for space, again, you'd think after the first six hundred times I'd just give up and admit that I've watched too much science fiction junk on television. We're far too arrogant and it shows. What if there are aliens. They'd think of weak and childish if we thought only of ourselves." She said it loud enough for the group at the end of the bar to hear, but shrugged. "Conspiracy theories of course, but that doesn't make it any less fun. Live long and prosper." She joked heading back to her usual table.

AN: I know, that this is different than the other chapters, but it's better to know what's going on in her life during the 4 year absence then to just jump 4 years in time. Yes there is a bit of a torchwood reference, but there is also a reference to another fanfiction written by my friend. (Look up Evie, by Elizabeth. if you're curious. ) I love her and her writing and we're in real life friends. I'll be working on the years 2006-2008 tomorrow. Then it'll be back to SGC with a new and improved Oriana Jones…Hope you loved it as much as I loved writing it.


	6. Last Two Years in Cardiff

AN: Any dialogue between Oriana and Evie is written with the help of Evie's creator. That being said….we kinda roleplayed the scenes they're in. Couldn't risk ruining a character that wasn't my own . Some of it was not roleplayed and was…an attempt by me.

School being out for the summer should be something any normal college student rejoices at, but when you're forbidden from going home things seem much more grim. Oriana sat at the bar flustered with her theory yet again. Another ten pages gone. She'd never understand why she kept coming back to the same theory and fiddling with her mini pocket watch was just making her antsier. She needed to go home. There was something in the air here that kept her from making any progress. The same ten pages and the same lack of thesis that had her frustrated on the plane over two years ago. She didn't know how to handle the road block and sitting in the pub in the middle of the day seemed like the best way to keep herself from going insane. She'd spent hours, no days after finals in the silence of the library looking for anything that could help her find out what she needed to solve this, but nothing. All of her professors praised her intuitiveness, but said that any venture was extreme and unwarranted at the current time. They were all oblvious idiots. She mumbled under her breath as she yet again deleted the last ten pages of her theory. The other three attempts were in the same place. Thankfully she had the intelligence to save everything she deleted. Nice little program she created to avoid regret later, but those documents didn't help the frustration as she gulped her favorite drink down as quickly as she'd gotten it.

"What's got your panties in a twist then?" Evie asked while refilling the girls drink. Since the pub was practically dead she found no reason not to chat with one of her regular customers.

"School or rather what to do now that school is finished for the summer. I've been working on this damned theory for two years and I have about 30 pages of garbage and am no closer to figuring it out now then I was on that god forsaken plane." She murmured. "So much is expected, but then to be told, well it's not practical. I mean really, why let me waste my time and intrigue if you're just going to brush it off anyway." She sighed exasperated.

"Yeah, I can understand that. No one ever really believed that I was going to crack time travel, or even the full nature of time. But they were going to let me write my thesis on it" Evie said leaning over the counter.

"I didn't realize you were a student. I mean I see you here all the time while I'm typing away at a useless project. What are you majoring in?" She turned her computer around a bit to point out her equations, "I'm majoring in Astrophysics, but I'm mostly interested in Astronomy. I'd stick to Astronomy if it was enough for my internship, but it'll be a miracle if I get it back."

"I'm...not a student anymore. I was. I was in London for school though, but when my mum died...I just couldn't do it anymore. She pushed me into the sciences. I was always good at it. Maybe even brilliant, but I was more interested in literature. But she died and I wasn't even mentioned in her will, and I just...quit. Moved to Wales and got a job as a barkeep."

"It's a shame. My dad died when I graduated high school. Well, he wasn't really my dad. He's all I remember as a father figure though. I was at the orphanage for about a week before he adopted me out of the blue. When he died I went to live with my grandfather. He was so angry at me for turning down my full ride to the Ivy's on the East Coast that he forced me to at least attend a community college. That didn't go according to plan. Accused me of cheating and I made excuses and didn't do much more then argue fight and insult their intelligence. Grandpa had enough after a semester and a half of it and sent me here. His original plan was Cambridge or Oxford, and I was accepted to both. But I was so mad at him that I decided that I'd do what I wanted and screw his ideas of my 'ideal' future." She said sipping at her drink ignoring the buzzing computer for the first time in weeks for actual human conversation.

"Yeah, parent figures'll get to you. I think my mum dying was just the last straw my brother went missing a couple months before that , and he was all I really had. Mum wanted me at Cambridge or Oxford too, but I just didn't apply. She was mad at me, we didn't really talk much for ages. and then when my brother disappeared she stopped talking to me altogether, and her will left everything to him. Not a penny or piece of advice for me."

"Dad didn't leave much. The fire destroyed almost everything except that damned clock the orphanage said was mine and the mini pocket watch I've had around my neck since I woke up without a memory to my name. If it makes you feel better, while I'm receiving an allowance there are conditions to it. Me not returning home is one of them and a miserable phone call every Christmas to make sure I'm alive. The emails between us have become few and far between and anything in them is practically a formality. His work with the government is making it difficult for us to communicate. My security clearance got lowered as a result of an incident where I acted like the spoiled brat they babied." Oriana went on completely oblivious to the fact that her name and security clearance were in the same sentence.

Her obviousness missed the spilled drinks at the table behind her. One Owen Harper was sitting with his colleagues when the girl from two Christmas' ago mentioned security clearance. He wasn't the only one that heard. As his boss was quick to turn an ear to Oriana, Owen went back to his drink practically gulping it down at the idea of having slept with someone he knew absolutely nothing about. Jack Harkness moved his chair a bit closer to the bar, but still at the table listening into the conversation Oriana was having with his favorite bartender, or at least the prettiest one.

"Security clearance? Well that would be useful. Maybe someone could finally do something about "bloody Torchwood." I'm sure the locals would be happy anyway. Personally I don't care much. I mean, Torchwood's never hurt me, and I don't much care what they get up to. But...everyone else does. Super-secret government organization, after all. Everyone has a theory in Cardiff."

"I had a theory about them myself, typed a full fifty page thesis on them not that anyone'd believe me. And yeah I've had security clearance since I become my grandfather's granddaughter. He used to joke that my civilian clearance was higher then his own employees. Still can't believe I screwed that one up. I've been promised a place if I graduate, but I don't even know if I wanna go back. I mean one little incident with trying to learn to fire a gun and suddenly you're ex-jarhead is packing you on a plane and you're in London trying to make your own way in the world. And no one even came to say goodbye, not even Jack. He was like a father to me and he just pretended I didn't exist after everything I did when…well it doesn't matter. If I go back they wouldn't recognize me. I even changed my name and became a duel citizen. I'd probably be stuck on desk duty again. In that dingy little office with no windows." She murmured the last part taking another sip of her drink. "As for "bloody torchwood" They aren't very good at being top secret if everyone in Cardiff has theories about them. I mean seriously who go around so freaking obviously. That wouldn't fly at home. They'd be on desk duty quicker than I could gulp down this wonderful concoction of yours."

"I'm like it," Evie laughed and then served up another beer to a man down the bar who had gestured for one, "Torchwood is the worst kept secret in all of Great Britain. Their stupid SUV even has the name done up on it. But, if it makes you feel better my mum would have grounded the living daylights out of me for even thinking of touching a gun, and my brother would have snatched it from me and thrown it out a window. Aethelred was always a character, and we argued all the time. We insulted each other...sort of to show how much we cared. But I like Cardiff, I don't think I'd go back to London even if they gave me a full ride and let me continue on. Finish my thesis and all that. It's nice here, and I'm trying to learn Welsh, but my tongue keeps tripping over the words. Have you tried yet? It's kinda hard to get the syllables straight."

"I'm going back in two years. I feel bad that I haven't bothered. I've picked up a bit of an accent. I think it's because I hated sounded so damned American where I came here. People looked at me funny. So picked up the accent the culture. I'll never drink beer though and fish and chips is so never going to happen. I'm happy with my whopper and fries." She smiled relaxing her shoulders. "It was once. I mean they taught me one on one combat and I'm pretty good with self-defense, but my fists can't always protect me. I've been taking a seminar on gun handling and managed to get myself a license. Can't find the heart to buy one though, but that's because of what happened to Jack's son. He accidently ate a bullet. Sad story. I wish I didn't have to go back to the states, but the president…never mind it's not all that important. As for my thesis and the lack of motivation. It started with a star trek reference from my jar head. Spent far too much time talking about how aliens would never accept our culture if we were arrogant and thought of time in a heliocentric fashion. Him and Daniel both. I really miss them." Her smile faded a bit. Remembering then that she'd never see Seb again. She bit back the sob that suddenly accompanied the thought and took another swig of her drink. "Sebastian died about a year ago. I think that's why I'm so desperate to finish this. He made me promise I'd make something of myself. But the worst part is that he died thinking I hadn't forgiven him. Note to anyone silly enough to have family in command. Don't date someone they're the boss of, because they're the one that'll have to call you and give you the bad news."

"I'm sorry. I...I think my brother's dead too. He's been missing over two years, not a single word from him to anyone, not a trace. I think it would be better if I just knew he was dead, if I could hold a memorial with all his old friends and just let him go. But until I know he's dead for sure, I just can't act. So I come into work bright and early every morning and I work till after the sun goes down, and I go to sleep and wake up and go to work. It keeps me from thinking too hard, or starving...But Star Trek, That's cool. I watched a couple shows one day, it was pretty interesting. Aliens I don't believe in though. I bet there are faeries and everything though. Too many legends for there not to be any truth behind it all."

"I'm sorry. I know it's hard not knowing. Two years is a long time for someone to be missing, but there is always hope. I have faith that someday I'll know my past and maybe you'll find out about your brother. As for aliens. I know they exist." Her statement was vauge but to the point. She wasn't going to lie to her new friend. There were aliens. She'd seen a few of the case files before she'd left Teal'c's kind wasn't the only kind either. She was so curious she wished she'd crack the cipher. "I might not have proof to show you, but I know they're real. Everything about this world tells you it is, but there's not much I can do till the world is ready to know. If everyone is so quick to allow agencies like torchwood to hide that information there isn't much I can do about it. I won't be the girl everyone lables as insane let alone allow my theories to put me on the black list. No I want a career someday so it's best I keep my 'intangible' information to myself." She sighed when she realized she was done with her drink. She smiled at her new friend sadly before shutting her laptop. "I should go. I'll be back tomorrow when it's dead so we can continue our conversation. Perhaps we'll discuss why there is a man eaves dropping on our conversation." She joked turning around noticing that Jack Harkness was closer then he'd been at the beginning of her and Evie's conversation. "It's rude you know. To eaves drop."

X*X*

Weeks later Oriana would regret drinking while talking about her life in the states. She'd let to much slip and with that man eaves dropping she couldn't help but feel jumpy. Weeks after the conversation Oriana had the scariest moment of her life. She felt someone tap her shoulder and her world came crashing down. "I believe we need to have a conversation Miss. Hammond-Jones." The man's voice shattered any hope that they'd missed the part where she meantioned her thesis or the part where her security clearance was aired to the entire pub if anyone else had bothered to listen.

"Bloody Torchwood." She murmured angrily turning around and following the man in the grey coat. He moved them around till they were sitting in the only booth that the bartender couldn't see. Weeks of talking with Evie during down times had led to her learning the best spots to hide when one wanted to be sneaky. "I suppose this is where you threaten me so that I stay silent?"

"Actually this is when I ask why you didn't make yourself known to us when you arrived in Cardiff. I have a standing agreement with the SGC that they don't mess with our territory and we stay off theirs. You're very far from your sandbox Miss. Hammond-Jones."

"Oh for the love of all things holy, it's Oriana. No one calls me by my last name unless I'm in trouble and while I admit I'm kind of in trouble it doesn't mean I like to be reminded of it every five minutes. And why the hell are you talking about your sandbox? I can tell by the accent that you're American. That's a bit hypocritical don't you think?" She answered crossing her arms over her chest. She mentally chastised herself for the return to her mannerisims. She didn't feel comfortable with her conversation or the fact that he'd looked into her. "Besides I'm not technically part of the SGC anymore." She added trying to keep the pout and frustration out of her voice.

"Really? Interesting then that they still have an open case file with your name on it. And when I called they seemed willing to do anything to keep your location a secret. Most particularly from members of your old team. The team you used to consult with even when you were 'benched' so to speak." Jack pulled a folder out of her jacket and handed it to her, "I'm Captain Jack Harkness by the way. You can call me Jack, and next time don't use Owen to get your information about us. While I admit he's a bit of a blabber mouth doesn't mean he's the best source."

"Honestly, I was only using him for the sex. Didn't realize till after that he'd be a good in. That is after I told him I wanted no strings. Besides that…I'm not allowed contact with any organization that involves anything of….top secret nature. As you can see from my file my security clearance has been revoked due to an incident. And no it wasn't because I decided to fire a gun. I realized after, I was tipsy after all, that if I told her too much about my life in America I might as well admit her as part of the order of the phoenix. Sorry I'm a bit of a Potterhead."

"How…original. Listen, I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, but you have to hand over your Torchwood thesis. As well as anything related to us. That is including the tie you stole from Owen's flat. I'm surprised he never noticed it was missing. I know you mean well, but you're a liability. Here and in the US. When the time is right I'll make sure your people take care of you. It wouldn't be right for me to retcon you. Not when you're so obviously important to the American version of us."

"They're nothing like you. They actually travel to other planets and are a bit more discrete then you attempt to be" She huffed. She was frustrated, but it was life. She was out of the loop and nothing she did was going to fix it. "Let me compromise with you. I keep my info on Torchwood and don't share it. You keep me in the loop, kinda. At least if it's the end of the world you give me warning to tell my people, and you tell me where I can find you if there is an emergency. I don't like being caught unprepared. Kidnapped once because of being stupidly ignorant. I wont let it happen again."

"Deal!"

X*X*

It was months before she got over the conversation she'd had with one Capitan Jack Harkness. Already she was wishing it had never happened. She still had her little Torchwood file, but now she had it encrypted, something she'd picked up at school to avoid anyone reading it, and it was larger. It now included the location, or at least the general whereabouts. It was funny. She ran into the Torchwood team quite frequently. Flirted with Owen who was quite amused by the fact that she knew about their little gig and if he slipped he slipped. They'd slept together at least three more times since the conversation with Jack, but it still meant nothing to either of them.

She sat in the pub every day during down times and discussed her theory with Evie. They were becoming close friends and it seemed like that was how it was meant to be. Things were great until Thanksgiving that year. She was sitting at the pub for thanksgiving dinner when it happened. Evie was behind the bar as she always was and a man looking like a fish came storming in.

"Should I shoot her?" The Mr. Fish asked a laugh seeming to be hidden behind his watery voice.

"Well, Mr. Fish, shooting people who are willing to serve you alcohol is generally a bad idea," Evie told him shifting slightly so she was leaning on the bar. She didn't want to die. But if she was about to get shot she might as well get a word in edgewise.

Jack was there behind the alien when it had come in and by the time Oriana could blink Jack had taken out the alien and was checking on Evie. Her heart was racing at the thought of her friend being in trouble, but the alien was amusing. She'd always assumed that aliens were much the to Go'auld. At least partially human. She looked at Jack and knew those eyes, but what she wasn't expecting was for Evie to pass out cold on the floor behind the bar. Before she knew it Owen and Jack were lugging her away. And in her mind she knew things wouldn't be the same.

A few days later Evie was approaching her and she'd realized that in the last few days her bartender hadn't know what drink she wanted and thought it was a waste of time to entertain the idea of speaking with her. So here she was sitting in her booth alone mulling over deleting another twenty pages of research on Space time.

"Again with the Space time? One would think you'd had enough of deleting your theories and choose something a little less abstract until you were back in the states." Evie teased sliding into the booth across from her. "I have to talk to you."

Oriana knew what was coming. She'd been tempted by the idea of aliens once and she knew that look. "Have a seat. Lemme order you a drink. The idiot bartender has no idea how to make my sweet tea. Looks like I won't be an alcoholic anytime soon." She raised her hand for the waitress to bring her a coke and a tea for her friend. She sighed when she observed her friend. "You don't work here anymore."

"I don't. Truth is that a better opportunity came around. It pays enough that I can go back to the lifestyle I had before my…the point is that it's better than living off the stupid tips I get around here. Yeah, you're a generous tipper, but you're also my friend. I want you to be happy for me. Even if I can't tell you where I'll be working. We can still hang out. Maybe we can actually join each other for drinks instead of me making them and you getting drunk and spilling your deepest darkest secrets." She teased.

Oriana scoffed. Jack hadn't told her. "What about that man that saved your life?"

"Captain Grey Coat? Yea, he offered me the job. Told me it was top secret. You told me you lost your security clearance. I can tell you all about doctor snark though. He treated me and then proceeded to bring up my missing records from my youth. Really who does he think he is the British government?"

Oriana let out a soft laugh, but her heart was hurting. "Don't do this, Evie. Don't join Torchwood. And don't look at me like that. I told you I had a file on Torchwood and both Owen and Jack Harkness are on that list. And he confirmed it after my slip of the tounge when we first met. I'm not allowed to be involved. He'll make you cut me out of your life and then what? I have to stay in this city sipping drinks that taste horrible alone because you're gonna go off and risk your life with a bunch of people you don't know? At least I know the people I'll be risking my life with. I know all about them. Every last bit of information. And here you are going in blind. It's dangerous!" Oriana was sad and her tears were cold against the heat of her cheeks. God what was it with her and crying. She was so sure that she'd gotten over everything after years of resentment towards the SGC, but here she was crying like a damn baby because yet another person she'd grown to care about was about to leave her behind.

"That's enough, Miss. Hammond-Jones." Jack's voice interrupted their conversation. His no nonsense tone was back and so was Oriana's resentment.

"We've talked about this Harkness. I don't answer to you. In fact I don't answer to anyone in this god forsaken country. And if you're willing to risk the life of someone I've grown to care about then you're risking letting my documents be sent to SGC. But you already knew that. I got the email and hour ago telling me they weren't interested. Signed by the damn president himself. And yes Evie, I knew why you wanted to talk to me. I knew when the alien pulled the gun on you that things would be different. And I knew you'd take his offer when it came. It is a much nicer paying Job. I should know I was on the payroll of a government facilitiy for a few months. And in all honesty that's where my allowance comes from. So go ahead, risk your life for your country, or should I say your planet, but remember one thing. It'll pay the bills, but will it be worth it to know exactly what goes bump in the night." She signaled the waitress paid the bill in cash and made her way to the door with sad eyes.

She hadn't lost a friend, but she was sure things would be different. Evie had been hopeful that they'd be just the way they were, but she didn't know that with her new job came a responsibility that Oriana didn't want to have to watch. Not again. She couldn't bear the thought of Evie going missing or dying like Seb. No she'd watch from a distance. She's give her tips and hints to them when she found them and when she was sure that no one was looking she'd write notes in the encrypted file she'd spent the last almost three years perfecting.

X*X*

The months went pay in a lonely way. November turned to December and December turned into the New Year. It was 2008. She had six months before she had to go home. It also meant she was 22. She had missed her birthday. Had stopped checking her emails and she was what Daniel had once referred to as a recluse. She spent hours, days and weeks barracked in the library. Her theory on Space time had been thrown to the wind. It didn't exist anymore. Not in the files she'd saved from almost four years of work and not on the new shinny laptop she'd purchased as a pre-graduation gift to herself. Any thought of her Trekkie ways was gone. She was an upstanding student who finished a thesis on something that she couldn't quite recall. It had taken a week, but 100 pages double spaced typed with APA format was done before anyone else in her graduating class. She had the grades she needed to graduate Valedictorian, but declined the right, by purposefully getting a C in a class that she didn't need. She was sure that she'd regret it someday, but she was done with the pomp and circumstance. She just wanted to leave this world behind. She wanted to travel again. Perhaps she could convince them to not put her on a desk job, but with her 'degree' she'd be put under Daniel's command and he'd never let a prize asset go anywhere near the gate. Not when she'd screwed up the last time.

She contemplated changing her name back. She didn't want Torchwood to find her when she left. She'd be emailing them her Torchwood thesis when she boarded the plane. She'd make sure that her character evaluations were there and she'd make sure that Evie realized hers was the longest. Sure she still had Owen's tie, she'd mention that in his personal email, but Evie had been the focus of it.

The girl who believed in mythology but not aliens thrust into the world of everything science fiction. Sounded more like a children's novel, but she couldn't be conserned with specifics. She wanted them to know that she'd be watching them from her little desk in the States. She wasn't sure if Jack had told Evie where she'd be going. Hell sometimes she wondered if Evie tried to convince Jack to give her a job. That wouldn't have happened. Even if he didn't know who she was. She had security clearance in another country, or at least she assumed she would once she returned. If she didn't then she'd earn it back by doing the same to SG-1 as she had to the Torchwood team. It was much easier getting under Owen's skin and of course Evie was no mystery to her. The smallest file on record was one Captian Jack Harkness. He didn't exist really, but she hadn't really gone into depth about the information. No she would return home and leave Evie to her new friend Ianto Jones. Funny how she'd replaced one Jones for another. She was sure that Evie was so involved in Torchwood that she wouldn't even realize that Oriana was gone.

Those six months passed faster then she could believe. Before she knew it she was on another ten hour flight. Only this time she wasn't the silly eighteen year old young woman who thought that the world revolved around her intelligence. This time she was a sophisticated young lady who was more British then she'd like to admit. She was a fan of tea, no thanks to Evie's detestation of Coffee because she was far to British for her own good, she enjoyed high fashion, but chose the sophisticated down played professional look when she traveled, and she now bore a common name. Jones. She'd dropped the hyphened Hammond. She was a new woman. Her grandfather had been informed of her choices and understood that she wanted her old office back, but that no one was to know who she was. It was to be a fresh start and if he didn't grant her that. She'd be on a one way flight back to Cardiff and she'd beg, yes she would beg, Jack Harkness to allow her to join Torchwood. It would never happen. The president would never allow an asset such as herself to go running off into the sunset with a different team of extraterrestrial scientists. She's ride the desk like any good working girl would, but she'd do it in a way that made her invaluable. She'd use it as leverage until the time was just right to get herself back in the field.

She'd be part of SG-1 no matter what it took. Even if it meant blackmail. She knew it was a punishable offence in every country, but she'd learned a thing or two from spying on Evie and her new best friend Ianto. She wasn't jealous of course. It was only natural to feel a bit irritated by a friend ditching you. You say one wrong thing and it's as if you're the she devil in disguise.

"So you're leaving then?"

Oriana turned around shocked to hear Evie approaching her.

"Yes, it's been four years. I've done my penance and I'll be returning to the States. I don't expect you'll be seeing me much as I have no intention of stepping on torchwood turf again." She said professionally. She was hurt and she wasn't about to deny it.

"You said that the last time you boarded a plane no one saw you off. I forced Owen to come, but at least this time you know you'll be missed."

"Missed? Because the last year has been such wonderful things. My only friend in the entire country went and ran off to be part of Torchwood, something that she insulted with me on one of my many drunken rants, and replaced me with a newer Jones. And Owen, the man I slept with on more than one occasion and has no intention of speaking to me again once I return his favorite tie, but that'll never happen as it's already been shipped stateside. That being said Owen scram. I know you don't care that I'm leaving and I have no intention of hugging you so that you might grip my ass one last time." She shooed Owen and looked Evie straight in the eye. Yes, Evie was taller and blonder, but she was still Evie. A woman she had come to miss the last year of her time in England. "Evie, I'm sorry that things happened the way they did, but I'm betting you now know how to shoot a gun and I'm also guessing that you've been in harms way more then you haven't. You can't blame me for my outburst a year ago. I'm not asking you to. It's done. Goodbye, my friend." She turned and ignored the girl. The tears were falling again and more and more she wished that they hadn't come. She hated goodbye and this was the worst.

X*X*

Eleven hours later she was landing at the airport closest to her grandfathers. He'd made plans for her so that she'd have her own car and small studio apartment waiting for her. "I'm home."


	7. Chapter 7

The world around her was spinning. She had been back less than a day and already she was regretting being home. Her mind kept drifting back to Evie. To Torchwood. No, this was where she belonged and this was where she had planned to be from the start. There had been three or four off world activations already and it was starting to get on her nerves. She couldn't help it really. After four years of near perfect silence apart from lectures and her occasional, or rather far to frequent, visits to the pub the annoying blaring was giving her a migraine. She looked at the same small office she'd left behind all those years ago and cringed. They'd practically kept it a shrine. Six people had come into her office today glaring at her for taking back her own space. They hadn't remembered her and her grandfather had kept his word. No one was to know. She'd work her way up without his name and without his help. The only people who knew who she was were the people who needed to know. Himself and the president of the United States. She banged her head against her desk as she heard the knock on her door. "If the door is open then you're free to come in. I have no intention of barring anyone from this shrine."

"It's not a shrine, Miss. Jones. It's a place where a very smart young woman used to spend her time. But that's not something you have to worry about is it. Because I think you're hiding something, which means that you won't be in this office very much longer."

Jack's voice was something that broke her heart. The hostility in his body language was something that made her want to scream who she was from the top of the building, but she was much to prideful for that. She promised herself that she'd avoid telling them as long as possible, but the more they pushed the more she pulled. They'd hate her for lying. In the back of her mind she told her self they'd understand, but she knew things would be different. She knew that when they found out she resented what they did to her they'd tell her it was 'for her own good'. No, they didn't say goodbye four years ago they don't get to play nice now. "Do you really think I could hide anything for General Hammond? He hired me. He gave me his granddaughters old office. Oh, don't look at me like that. Do you think I haven't heard the whispers? I took Oriana Bloody Hammond's old office and suddenly I'm the plague. Ya'll aren't giving me a chance and that's not something that I think is very professional." She was upholding the personality she picked up in Cardiff no matter how hard it was. She was a grown woman and she'd be treated like one.

"You never told me you're first name, Miss. Jones."

"And I won't. Now you came here for a reason. Is there anything I can help you with? Or did you come here to badger me into quitting my job? Because if you did I can tell you that it's not working and that you shouldn't quit your day job." She raised her eye brows at his frustrated face and sighed. She wouldn't last much longer like this. That look was one she just wanted to hug away.

"General Hammond wants you in the control room. They think that you can help Sam and Daniel with something. You being the outsourced help and all."

Oriana rolled her eyes and made her way passed Jack and slowly into the control room. "What can I do?"

"Someone's trying to contact us. We heard that you'd be sitting in on any diplomatic relation incidents and hence you were summoned." Daniel was giving her a look, "How often does that happen?"

His excitement was amusing to her, but to looks he was giving her. It was as if he could see right through her. "I wouldn't know, Sir. I'm new here."

"Oh, right I forgot I apologize."

"We can receive now, Major."

"Ok, pipe it through the speakers and try to match it so we can tramit back from our end."

The static that filled the room was disheartening, but the voice that came through was heartbreaking. "I repeat this is Euronda base. Have you reached the other side?"

Silence and tension fell upon the room as they realized that all those activation people had attempted to come through. The iris was closed. Oriana remembered similar expierences and did her best to steal herself from emotional whiplash. Now was not the time to be remembering her time before Cardiff. Now was the time to prove her worth.

"Felar, if you can hear me please respond." The voice on the radio echoed through the control room.

"This is Major Carter of the United States Air Force. It is imperative that you send no one else through the Gate."

"Can anyone hear me? This is Alar."

"They can't hear you, Major. We still haven't matched their frequency."

"How hard is it to match a damned frequency. If they found a way to get it through then we should have no problem matching it." Her frustration rang through like a knife cutting through ice. They'd like her less after her badgering but life was sacred and she wasn't sure how many lives had already been lost because of their damned Iris. She saw Daniel exchanging looks with Jack.

"…Historians believe that this Stargate is a portal to the world of our ancestors. Your kindred are besieged by a powerful enemy unwilling to listen to reason. Our supplies are all but gone. Our defenses are on the verge of collapse. Help us please!"

Oriana felt the tears streaming down her face before anyone else noticed. She knew the question that was coming and she'd already looked it up herself at the computer she'd been assigned. She wished she could find a place to just blow off steam. She remembered that Sebastian used to have her do training after things like this, but who'd want to train with her. She was Oriana Jones the woman who stole Oriana Hammond's office. Silly how no one had realized she was one in the same. How she hadn't given anyone her first name. They were supposed to be the best and brightest and she'd fooled them all.

"Damn…right there were four offworld activations prior to this one and the iris was closed the entire time. How many impact events did the computer report?"

"Three, Major. There are three souls that have passed because we are unwilling to leave the gate open. Three dead people who were only coming here to find the home of their ancestors because they need help. Because they're dying."

"So, three dead."

"That was crass O'Neill. Even for you."

"Yes, Sir." Carter said visibly upset.

"I'm going to go look up Euronda. Miss. Jones would you care to join me? I believe we have much to discuss." Daniel said motioning to her with a no nonsense look. The secret was out, but she wasn't surprised that Daniel had been the first to notice the similarities to her response about Human life. No, this wasn't that much of a shock to her, but the fact that he hadn't called her out in front of the entire SGC was. She nodded and followed him out. "Did you think that I wouldn't figure it out, Oriana?"

Oriana rolled her eyes as he closed the door to his lab. "Honestly? I was hoping that no one would figure out who I was till I was ready to accept that ya'll actually care. I mean it's not like anyone came to say goodbye to me four years ago." She said sitting down on one of the stools watching him. "Besides, I was a silly eighteen year old girl who thought solving the problems of this world would be like cake compared to the ones of all the other planets in the universe." She shrugged rolling her shoulders and cracking her neck.

"Still, you were missed. We weren't really told that you were leaving till you were gone. That Sebastian boy took it the hardest. No one would take him seriously and his temper and such were getting him into a lot of trouble. General Hammond said he was fidgety because of all the extra energy he had from no longer training you and keeping up with your insane amount of energy, but we all knew it was because he blamed himself. He thought you were mad at him, he died thinking you'd never forgive him. He told me he wouldn't blame you for hating him, but that he still wished he could say he was sorry. Your grandfather sent him offworld to get rid of the energy that needed dispensing. He played the hero and died in the process. His family mourns him as a hero, at least." Daniel said looking at his own research. "A lot has changed since you left. Mostly our alliances and our technology. But what I think has changed the most is you. You don't look like that little girl everyone is glaring at you about and maybe that's why it took me a whole day to realize who you were. Ever finish you theory about space time?" He chuckled hopefully.

"It's not as if I had an array of knowledge at my fingertips anymore. Until yesterday my security clearance was null and void. I couldn't even access SG-1 personnel files until yesterday. Which, I'd like to express my condolences, I read about Shar'e and I can't imagine how hard it's been. I hope you find peace or that you've already found it and I'm sorry I wasn't here to give you my condolences when it happened." She said sadly. She remembered Shar'e from her first trip through the Star Gate. She remembered how kind she'd been to her and she also remembered her brother. It was sad, but it was what it was. Life went on and all people could do was accept it or fade into nothing.

"You look pensive. Will you be joining our briefing this afternoon?"

"Most likely, but I still don't know if I want to tell them who I am. Jones fits me much better then Hammond. Though it was only an act of rebellion while I was in England. I met some nice people there. Their alien program lacks a bit of finesse though. Just saying."

"I heard rumors that you'd encountered their Torchwood team, but I don't believe you didn't attempt to join them to get back in the action." His teasing tone made Oriana smile. Things might not be as different as she thought.

"Yes, well I'd never join them. Everyone in Cardiff knows they exists. It's a miracle they don't know what they do by now. I lost a friend to them. She's working for them as if she never complained about them herself. I know she's doing it for the money, but I can't say I'm pleased with her decision. She should have gone back to school. She's the reason I was almost done with my theory on space time. Not that I'll be able to test it while I'm riding a desk in the furthest reaches of this damned mountain. You should have me working in here with you as a research assistant or something. I finished my BA and I'm going to be working on my MA online. I didn't want to stay in England to finish it in Cardiff. Something about overstaying my welcome." She teased as she looked at the documents he was perusing. "So tell me about these allies? How could I have missed so much? No one even bothered with a phone call."

"It's been four years and we were under the impression that you wouldn't want to hear from us. If you didn't contact your boyfriend then why could we assume you'd be any less angry at us? Come on I've got the information. We have a briefing to get to and if I was you I'd tell them. Or you'll be very lonely here." Daniel motioned for her to get a move on.

X*X*

"So how exactly are we going to handle this? If we ignore it then we're no better than a bunch of spoiled children who don't want to share, but if we help them we risk exposing ourselves to something far worse. If they are not facing the Gou'ld then we face making a new enemy by helping them, but if it is them then common enemies make us allies. Such a complicated decision to make in such a short amount of time. I couldn't comprehend all of the pros and cons in a day let alone a week and yet here we are ready to make it in a moments notice." Oriana said taking her seat next to Daniel. If they were going to ignore her words then she'd have to admit who she was, but if they didn't she could wait till the crisis passes.

"Yes, because you're such an expert on gate travel with your zero off world missions and you being in your second day of Desk Duty." Jack said leaning back completely dismissing any comments she'd just made.

"Are you seriously going to act like a spoiled brat? I swear a girl's gone for four years and suddenly her 'elders' revert to the childish ways of the sandbox. It's almost as bad as the turf war with Torchwood." She made her off handed comment to her grandfather. This was it. If they were too dense to understand her insinuations then she'd be better off with 'bloody torchwood'.

"Four years….Ori?" Jack's eyes were wide and the smile on Daniel's face was priceless.

"Stop gapping like a damned fish. I mean seriously it's not like it was that hard to figure out. Daniel pulled me aside after my outburst in the gate room. I'm in my old office and you go in there and threaten to expose a secret you didn't know I was keeping. I find it amusing that someone who should know me better than anyone else had difficulty recognizing what was right in front of his face."

"Sarah's made comments about that too recently, but I didn't tell you that. She brings you up every once in a while. Wonders when you were coming home something about force feeding you to fatten you up." Daniel teased.

"Ah, so you and Sarah still together? That makes me surprisingly happy. She is a wonderful woman. What is it Carter?"

Samantha Carter looked at her and shook her head. "We all thought you'd learned your lesson last time. That you wouldn't come back and actually make something of yourself in the civilian world."

"Don't be so disappointed that I'm back , Sam. I did what I had to and I earned my place here. You'd notice that I'm riding a desk till I prove myself. I'm trying to bribe Danny Boy over here for a postion in his lab, but he wants to see my research first. I think he's trying to steal it." She teased.

"Research? A twenty two year old with research? What is it about then hmm? How much make up can you wear before you have an allergic reaction?"

Sam's sarcasm didn't faze her. They'd never gotten along, but then again how could she get along with someone like her. She had everything and it was easy for her. Sam was smart and worked for everything she had. Oriana was given it because of name alone. She might have worked her ass of in Cardiff, but it was obvious the discretions of her past were not as far behind her as she'd originally thought. "Space time, but you've always thought I'd be better suited to a civilian field. Can we get back to the situation at hand?" She sighed. Her heart hurt. Why had Daniel been the only one to realize it was her? Why was Sam so mad? Yes, it was true her and Sam had never gotten along but this hostility it didn't make sense. Perhaps it was her tone. She had a tendency to talk in a way that was condescending. She never meant it, but it happened. It had happened on the plane to London four years ago and perhaps it was happening again.

"All right, assuming they make contact again and assuming they transmit the coordinates to their world, what kind of help can we seriously offer?" Hammond asked looking around the table at the others.

"Well…" Oriana for once was at a loss for words. What did one send a war torn planet?

"Err, food, clothing, medical supplies." Daniel added after a moment of silence.

"That would make sense, but how much do they need and how much can we spare? We need a plan incase things don't go our way. If we are to go through the Star Gate…"

"Clearly they seek military assistance above all else." Teal'c said seriously.

"And you will not be going through the Gate. So when and if SG-1 goes through the gate you will be in the control room monitoring activity including off-world activation." Hammond said seriously raising his eye brows daring her to have an outburst.

"I never assumed I'd be allowed, Sir. I was simply stating that we as a team needed a plan. I may not be part of SG-1 physically but if I'm to be the brains at home I will say we." She said seriously, but without any tones that would sound childish.

"God knows who they may be up against!" Hammond added frustrated.

"They themselves may be Goa'uld. Such a ruse would be keeping within their tactics."

"I don't think…."

"I don't think that's the case, Teal'c" Carter interrupted. Or perhaps it was Oriana that had interrupted the beginning of Carter's sentence. It was difficult to tell and there'd be no arguing where there were lives at stake. Such petty matters should be set aside even if they made her blood boil.

"They call themselves our kindred and the Goa'uld would not lower themselves to call us their relation."

"Some of whom have already met their deaths against a closed iris. That's hardly the ground on which to build diplomatic relations."

"Perhaps a token of good will after the fighting. An ambassador that means something to you as the leader of the SGC. I would be more than capable to act as an ambassador and am fully trained to deal with any situation that might arise. And I'd be willing to take Jack or Daniel with me…or both." She said softly.

"We'll discuss that later." Hammond said as the alarms began blaring once again.

X*X*  
>Oriana wasn't privy to the meeting. Tempers were flaring and she was sure this was for the best, but she was done with the bull. She wasn't a child anymore. She needed to prove herself. Maybe if she could show them that she wasn't defenseless. Her mind went to the gun license in her purse. She was going to renew it in the states, but she had to tell her grandfather first. After contact had been made again they were running ragged. She needed to be on that away team.<p>

"Grandpa, let me go."

General Hammond sighed as he looked at her. She'd grown up but her need to prove herself was still an integral part of her. "There would be conditions."

"You can give me a gun. I know how to shoot all kinds of guns now. Spend the better part of a year at the gun range. I'm sure it's part of the reason I was on Torchwoods radar, but that's doubtful. I want to show everyone here that I'm not the eighteen year old girl that was sent away over night. Haven't I done enough? You sent me away and I didn't fight you to come back. I graduated with honors and I'm here not complaining about sitting at a damned desk, but I know that we can do good this time. We can help these people. Let me help them."

"If you went you'd have to prove your competency in diplomacy, with Major Carter. I need to see how you can play nice with someone who is not ready to play nice with you. There is a meeting in five minutes. You will be diplomatic. I'm giving you the reigns to tell them our answer." He motioned for her to go to the briefing room and prepare herself.

Daniel walked in ready to fight for this and Oriana could tell. Perhaps he would be her diplomatic problem. But to her calming Daniel hadn't ever been a problem at least not in her head. Her childhood crush would be pleased with their answer and while at other times she'd love to rustle his feathers she needed to prove herself a calm figure in the face of a shit storm.

"I know it seems hopeless and I know there are a lot of unanswered questions but this is the first time that the descendants of Earth have actually called home. I mean either we try to do something or we let them die."

"Daniel, maybe you should sit down and let me start the meeting before you go pointing fingers. There is a lot that needs to be discussed before anything can be solved and finger pointing and reminders of guilt will only go so far." Oriana said hoping she'd been kind enough with her words to keep him on her side. She'd need them all on her side if she had any hope of getting this position.

"It's your call, sir." O'Neill stated as he looked between the Hammonds.

"Actually, Colonel, it's Oriana's call. She brought to my attention the fact that she'd like to be a diplomat and because of this I've decided to give her the reigns so to speak on this operation."

"I have to object, Sir. She's still a child and she's been gone too long to know all of our allies. If she'd like to be a diplomat then she should sit a few of these out and learn the ropes." Carter said looking at Jack with Disbelief who was just shrugging, but his face and eyes didn't hide the amusement that was building.

"Now I already know what you're going to say, Ori…" Daniel started as if he'd prepared a long speech.

But Oriana's eyes never left Carters. She knew she was right. She had missed far too much to be any good with allies they were already acquainted with and her expertise were better for a lab then anything in the field but she had to prove herself and she would. "I understand you concern Major, but I have a plan that would work in all of our favors. I thought it would be best if we sat down and discussed it in a round table setting we might end up at each other's throats. So my decision to go still stands, but the methods of which we go about it may be discussed." She said breathing deeply.

"Again, I state that you are still a child, you've been away from our alien encounters for longer than expected and because of this you shouldn't be left in charge of negotiations with a race of people you obviously won't understand. I understand Jackson believes this a relevant case, but I believe that it would be unwise to go in guns blaring."

"I never said we'd go in guns blaring, Major Carter, I was thinking we could find the remainder of the information and help them with supplies only. We will not provide military assistance unless we are facing a common enemy. It would be inhumane to allow their people to starve. Surly, I am making some form of sense?" She asked ending the conversation.

X*X*

"I am not defending him, Daniel. I happen to agree with him."

"Well, don't you relize what we would be doing?" Daniel asked frustrated as Carter walked up to Hammond leaving Daniel at the computer consoles not looking at either of them as Oriana walks up and stands next to him. "You don't want to know."

"Major, Doctor?"

"Sir, Colonel O'Neill has negotiated access and availability to virtually every advancement to virtually every advanced Eurondan technology. In exchange for an unspecified wuantity of heavy water."

"That's all they want?"

"That's all" Carter said confidently.

"What do they want it for?" Hammond asked looking back and forth between his granddaughter and Daniel.

"Thank you, thank you for asking that question!" Daniel say frustrated.

"As you know sir, heavy water contains deuterium."

"Which can be used to make nuclear weapons. We're supposed to be giving them supplies not weapons that can someday come back and bite us in the ass. And if they're already losing a war and their planet is already unstable do you really think they need more fuel to burn in the fire."

"Doctor you don't approve?" Hammond asked noting that it was ovcious that his granddaughter would agree with the Doctor.

"You said yourself that we could not and would not devote the resources necessary to win a war." Daniel added frustrated that Oriana seemed to be the only one understanding his frustrations.

"Obviously I was speaking in terms of committing military assets, human life."

"But there was a moral issue?" Daniel added.

"Yes."

"But if we can provide the power of all that and more in the form of water then the moral issue just evaporates?" Daniel says sarcastically.

"Not the best method of convincing a bunch of military people, Daniel. I understand you're frustrated, but that's stepping over a line." Oriana added recognizing the look on her grandfathers face.

"I shouldn't have to remind you that Apophis is alive and at present capable of wiping us from the face of this Earth without contest. It is the mandate of this organization to make sure that doesn't happen!"

"We both understand this, but grandfather surely…."

"We've only ever seen one side of this. Do we even know why they're fighting? History is written by the victors; it's all over archeological digs that the people we think to be at fault could truly be innocent do we know if that's the case with this war we were called in to help?"

"They're fighting for their lives!"

"Yes, yes and I was all for saving those lives. But we're about to go way, way, way beyond that. We're about to turn the tide of a world war that we know nothing about. Against an enemy that we know nothing about! Is that the right way to go about getting their technology? Yes. But is it the right thing to do?"

"He has a point." Carter and Oriana state at the same time.

"Yes, it is!" Daniel says happy that they were finally seeing sense.

X*X*

"I take it, Colonel, that you were unable to procure any of the Eurondan technology."

"That's correct, sir." O'Neill said looking at Hammond and Oriana. "Don't be to hard on yourself kid, you didn't know it would turn out like this. None of us did. Who would think that a civilization would pride itself on looking the same? Racism at its finest."

"I feel like this is one of those I don't know enough about the world scenarios. I didn't think I was as sheltered as I was before I left. Maybe I belong behind a desk."

"Maybe you should let me take you to dinner." Daniel added coming up behind her and hugging her gently. "It's always hard to be wrong about something like this. I didn't like it either when I figured it out. Be glad you weren't there to see it. I don't think you could have hidden your disgust." Daniel said jokingly.

"Are you buying? See I just started this new job as a desk girl in a top secret organization and they don't pay very well." She joked as Daniel motioned for her to exit the gate room.

"Should I be concerned?" Hammond asked Jack as they watched Daniel and Oriana head out of the gate room and towards the exit back into civilian world.

"I'm sure they have nothing in common and Daniel is still mourning Sha're. She had a crush on him once upon a time though, so perhaps a little concerned." Jack joked heading to the locker room.

X*X*

"Tell me about Europe!" Daniel said as he pulled out a chair for her to sit down. "Eveything, I mean surly it was an amazing education and you did wonderful things you'd never been able to do while here in the states."

"I met this girl. She was amazing. She worked at this little pub I visited almost every day for four years, but one day she wasn't there anymore. I guess I was more like her then I thought. She ended up working for Torchwood, which is so very much like the Stargate program except it seems like everyone knows Torchwood exists. They just don't know what they do. They're kinda like secret agents. Owen in particular didn't hide where he was from very well. I wrote an ENTIRE thesis on them based on his drunk babbling, but Captain Jack Harkness took it away and said that I wasn't allowed to speak of it. Something about a deal granddad has with the British government. It's like I'm some form of property. My intellect is the property of the United States government can you believe their reach!" Oriana laughed. It felt good to smile. It reminded her of Evie, Owen and Jack. They were the only people she'd had contact with outside of her university. She didn't get along with the other kids well not that this was news and she'd avoided everyone in the states. "I'm sorry I didn't keep in touch. I was angry at you."

"Angry? We went to see you off, but you weren't there. General Hammond said you'd left and didn't want to say goodbye. I think he wanted you to be angry at us so that you wouldn't want to come back. It's not the safest job. I lost my Sha're and you, you were kidnapped without ever even being involved with the stargate. Why did you come back? I heard you were offered scholarships to every major university in Europe for your Master Degree. I'd have taken it in a heartbeat. I got to see the world as a student. I'd do anything to have that freedom again."

"I felt like I was running. I liked it at first, but something felt off. Like it was the wrong way to run. The one time I went through the gate it felt like I was free, but then we came back and I screwed up. I screwed up so bad I got sent away. I love working with the stargate not knowing what's coming, but that security of knowing you all wouldn't leave me behind. I felt like I was being left behind or doing the leaving behind. It reminded me of my dad. He left me behind when the fire happened. I don't know why he didn't get out before the smoke damaged his lungs. Grandpa said he was sleeping, but I'd left not an hour prior. I think the fire is my fault. I might have left my straightener on, or maybe the curling iron. I feel like I have penance to pay before I can truly run away from my life. I feel like I owe grandpa something, but I don't know what for." She said playing with her necklace. "He even gave me hints about my past, but I didn't bother to go looking, what's the point of looking when you know you're not going to find anything?"

"You always play with that necklace. I didn't notice it as much back in the day, but now it seems like a nervous habit. Am I making you nervous? We've had dinner together before when discussing research before you left. Is it because now we're at the same level, or rather you're almost as qualified as I am in a subject of expertized. Not that you ever needed it. So smart and literally no one can keep up with you."

"Evie could." She stated staring at the necklace again rubbing the tarnish off of the silver. "It's the only thing I have left. Of a mystery I'll never solve."

"Ever try opening it?" Daniel asked holding his hand out asking to see it.

Oriana looked at him and took over her necklace feeling naked without it around her neck. "It's broken. Melted shut. It makes me wonder if my original family died in a fire as well."

"Ori, it's not melted. Are you sure you've looked at this close enough?"

X*X*

AN: I'm so sorry for the delay. School sucks and it's kept me from writing. This chapter has been half done for the entire semester. On the upside this is chapter 7 and chapter 10 is already mostly done, 8 and 9 not so much, but kind of outlined. I promise to get as much updated between now and the beginning of the spring semester. I hope you want to read more!


	8. Chapter 8

Oriana had a wonderful dinner with Daniel and after dinner had been wonderful, but the questions he raised about her past had left her with a migraine. She hadn't meant to bring it up, but it had happened. Her past had always been a sore subject, but Daniel made it seem like she was doing herself a disservice by ignoring it. He said the sides weren't melted together like she'd originally thought and when she asked her grandfather he said the same thing. How has she missed this detail? Was she so desperate to forget her past that she'd ignored every other possibility about the watch necklace being broken then it actually opening. She's asked her grandfather to pull the clock out of storage and it was now sitting in the sitting room of her new home. She'd been staring at it about the same amount of time as she had the necklace in her hand. She'd refused to put it back on after Daniel had pointed out her errors. Studying every facet of it. It screamed at her to open it. She swore she heard her own voice begging her to stop ignoring what was right in front of her face. She'd joked with Daniel about it of course telling him that it was her fault she was going mad, but there was something about her necklace and about that damned grandfather clock that never chimed on the right hour. The doors were jammed and the glass frosted and worn. She wondered how the glass didn't melt or why the wood didn't set on fire, but they didn't and here it was in pristine condition. Or it would be pristine if the gears worked at all. It chimed when she looked at it long enough and sometimes it was maybe once or twice, but never on the hour and most certainly not when she wanted it to. "What is the mystery of this thing?" She asked the empty room. This was becoming a habit of hers since she'd refused to return to work. She needed to figure out her shit and the dinners with Daniel weren't helping. They'd gone out three times this week and each time he'd paid for her. It had been adorable of course since she was harboring a crush on him, since she was 18, but she knew he was mourning for Sha're. Their relationship, if that's what it was, would be purely physical and conversational. The ringing phone drew her out of her shell as she looked around for the discarded phone, "Jon…Hammond." She answered confusing her two last names. It had been about a month since her return from Cardiff, but she wanted to go back to the simplistic life of a student every day. Even if it meant dealing with Bloody Torchwood.

"I need you to come in and answer phones, you're on the payroll here and that means that you can't just not show up for work because you don't feel like it, Oriana."

"I can't come in. As my employer you can fire me if you'd like, but I'm sure the president would complain that you've lost a brilliant mind. I need time to think things over. I shouldn't have come back to work so soon after returning I'm still readjusting to my new life." She said fingering the edges of the necklace. "I'll come in when I'm ready."

"Just be ready soon. I have someone working on the torchwood people and they're as much of a pain in the backside as you said. Never calling at a decent hour." Hammond grumbled as he hung up the phone.

Oriana shook her head as her mind went back to her time in Cardiff. She remembered the day trip she'd taken to London and how much she'd loved the feel of it after hiding out in Cardiff for so many months. She'd taken a plane to Spain during her spring break and she'd gone up to Paris after that. She'd loved traveling when it was controlled, but when she was here traveling through the gate felt like a cope out. Though they hadn't let her since she'd returned. Something about policy, but she was sure it was just another way to keep her tethered to a desk. She didn't mind her desk, it was much tidier then it had been during her teen years, but it still held her signature chaos. Her love for science fiction had found its way into her own house. She had a fire on of course, as it was already freezing and spring was just around the corner. She longed for the days that would bring flowers and hopefully a world filled with less tourists and a traffic free drive to work. How had this happened? How had working for the government turned into a chore over something she looked forward to everyday? Daniel had pointed out that she'd become a scholar and that meant she'd be less likely to appreciate the overbearing nature that was the United States government. Had he been right? He was treating her like an equal even though she was no where near his academic success, not yet.

The ringing of the phone again caused Oriana to groan. "Hammond."

"Is that the way you greet a friend?" Daniel's teasing voice came through the phone. "I know you have stuff going on, but the phones haven't stopped ringing. We can't figure out why Torchwood is so rude and still holding over our heads that we had someone on 'their' territory and something about that person spying on them?"

"Daniel, are you making an excuse to see me, outside of work without my grandfather realizing you're going to use me for a consult. You can do that, you know just visit. I don't bite, unless you want me to of course." Oriana joked putting her necklace and her tools back on the table. "I've been thinking about what you said. Could you come over after work? I don't want to open it alone."

"Maybe I was wrong, Ori. Maybe opening the locket was a bad idea, what if what you see hurts you more than it helps. It would be all my fault and…"

"Daniel, my mind is made up all I'm asking is that you don't make me do it alone. What if there is nothing there? What if it's just another clue to nowhere? Please, Danny, don't make me do this alone."

"I'll come as soon as I can, but maybe you'd like to join Sam, Jack and I for some steaks at O'Malley's we were just about to get a table it'll be fun I promise." Daniels words convinced Oriana that she needed fresh air.

"Alright, I'll be there."

X*X*

"How high do you think that fence was?" Jack asked as Oriana approached the table.

"Twenty, twenty five feet? Ori, come on sit by me!" Daniel added carefully pulling out a chair for her.

"I'd say more like thirty," Carter added.

"What fence? Did you guys go on an away mission and decided to tell me all the juicy details that being on desk duty means I miss?"

"What can I get you?" A Waitress asks looking at the group amused.

"Err….three of the biggest steaks you've got with everything, rare and a baked potato." Jack said turning back to Ori, "What brings you out of your cave? Your grandfather has been screaming to the roof tops about how annoying Torchwood is. We thought that you were the person in charge of dealing with those calls. Because no one else has the Patience?"

"You got it!" The waitress starts to walk off.

"Excuse me…that was for me!" Jack adds confused at the waitress thinking this was some kind of joke.

"Yeah, I'm going to have three as well, Ori do you want something?"

"Four?" Jack adds.

"Four, four is good!" Daniel says smiling at the waitress.

"Me too, and French-fries with mine…oh and a diet soda!" Carter adds at the confused waitress.

"I'll just have fish and chips….sorry a chicken basket and fries." She said looking at the three people in front of her. "Did you guys burn all your calories on some weird alien diet that suddenly has you wishing you were a heavy weight?"

"Oh, and I'll take a shot of your strongest liquor." Jack adds as she walks away.

"So has it occurred to anyone that we're defying a direct order?" Carter asks causing Ori to spit out her water.

"Wait, what are you talking about? And what's with the diets?" She asked looking between the three trouble makers.

"Well, it's not like we haven't defied orders before. Besides, I had plans and I'm sure he'd be more angry if I hurt his granddaughter then just getting a steak because I'm starving!"

"Well yeah, but that was to save Earth and I'm sure she'd have understood that we were grounded Daniel."

"Earth, steaks, making the granddaughter of your boss happy, there's a difference?" Jack asked teasingly.

"We'll be back before anyone knows we're gone!" Daniel added nudging Oriana whose face was full of worry and conflict.

To call her grandfather or to go along with being included. She watched as Sam walked away to challenge a guy to a game of pool. "This isn't going to end well" she muttered as she saw that Carter had just won the game. The game itself was harmless, but no one was allowed to call Daniel a geek.

"Geek?" Jack asked looking at the man.

"Excuse me?" Daniel asked moving in front of Oriana.

"Let it go, Danny boy." Jack said looking between them and the confused face being made by Oriana as Daniel smiled and ignored Jacks suggestion.

"No, not this time!"

"Yeah, what are you going to do? Have your little girlfriend defend you? You know if you ever get tired of the nerd heard here, I'm single." The man flirted as two men surrounded O'Neill and another two surrounded Daniel.

"Well, this is a cliché!" Jack raised his eyebrow at Daniel, "Oh alright!" He said grabbing one of the men and throwing him across the room.

"Guys! Stop this is ridiculous! Guys!" Oriana cried out over the sounds of the bar fight getting a fist to the face trying to break up the brawl.

X*X*

"Can you explain to me why seeral witnesses put you people at a restaurant in town last night? Or why my granddaughter has a shiner to her right eye and has come into work grumbling about us knowing better then to try alien technology."

"Sir…" Jack and Daniel started together looking at each other.

"I can't tell you how…" Jack starts again, but Daniel interrupts him.

"…I can explain that! Well, No I can't, but Oriana is fine." Jack added

"We were very hungry, sir." Carter said trying to make the General see sense.

"The report says there was a brawl! You got my granddaughter involved in a brawl and she wonders why I keep her on desk duty."

"It was more of a scuffle, sir. Oriana was just trying to break it up. The man made a derogatory comment about Daniel and then another comment about how if Oriana got tired of the 'nerd herd' he was free to show her a good time. You know how protective we all are about her." Jack said trying to make light of a bad situation.

"You're lucky you didn't kill any of those men! Oriana can take care of herself. If it had bothered her I taught her how to do a mean right hook, you didn't need to step in!"

"No, we were very careful about that, General! We held back our strength to ensure the survival of human life. No matter how scummy they were." Jack said nodding with a grin on his face.

"What am I supposed to do with you people? If you act like teenagers on steroids you should be treated like teenagers. Oriana would have been grounded for months if she'd pulled that shit when she lived under my roof, and ya'll should count the entirety of the SGC as my roof!"

"General, I can't tell you how sorry we are, but Carter wanted a steak!"

Carter looked up annoyed, "Actually it was your idea…"

"My point is, General…."

"Sir!" Carter interrupted angrily.

"The fact that we were defying orders didn't even occur to us until we were actually defying them?" He said innocently.

"Yes like teenagers." Oriana said coming back into the room with a folder. "Torchwood's been handled. You just have to tell them to sod off and that we have our own problems to deal with. They made some comments about an alien called the Doctor and the head of their organization running off to see him."

"It's like the armbands are having an effect on our ability to make rational choices." Daniel added looking at Oriana as she moved to grab her coat from the chair it was hanging on, "You're leaving?"

"When you all are done acting like teenagers I'll be back in the mean time I'm going to figure out my past, alone apparently."

"General Hammond, I have received a message from the Tok'ra High Council." A woman said entering the room unannounced.

"Tok'ra…is that another group of aliens we've made friends with or are they the ones using humans as lab rats?" Oriana added sarcastically.

"Oriana," Hammond said in warning turning back to the woman, "Her name is Anise, what?"

"I reported the progress of the experiment and they have made a suggestion."

"Of course they have." Oriana muttered her grandfather sending her a glare.

"Regarding?"

"The High Council would like to put forward the idea of putting SG-1's new skills into practical use."

"YES, Sir…." Jack added feeling a glare that was typically reserved for when Oriana was a teen.

"What are they suggesting?" Hammond asked looking at her cautiously.

"We have just received new information regarding a new class of battleship that Apophis is building." Anise started.

"Just received?"

"Our internal attempt at sabotage has already failed. However, based on our intelligence a special covert team could.."

"You've known all along."Hammond says interrupting her statement. He knew when he was being manipulated every grandfather on the planet could tell when they were being manipulated after the fact. He'd have to remember to thank his grandchildren for their attempts at wrapping him naively around their fingers. The one in the room included.

"Excuse me?"

"This was the point wasn't it?" Hammond says his arms across his chest watching in the corner of his eye as Oriana shifted uncomfortably.

"General, I assure you…" Anise's voice gone as her host takes control of her body.

"I assure you, I've been at this a long time and I know damn well when I'm being manipulated! I have three grandchildren and one of them is a grown woman who knows I can smell a manipulation a mile away!"

"I realize how this must look, however in the interests of the Tok'ra Earth alliance…"

"Don't give me that load of bunk. Right now I don't think the Tok'ra have my people's best interests in mind. I feel like they're trying to slip the wool over my eyes and pretend this scheme was all my idea." Hammond said growing angrier at their insistence that they were not manipulating them.

"General, if you believe anything, believe this. If Apophis is allowed to complete this battle ship it will assure his dominance over the Goa'uld, your planet and the rest of this galaxy." The host started blinking as Anise takes control, "I am sure the high council will be disappointed. I have downloaded everything we know about the battleship's construction into your base computer. Hopefully you will review it and change your mind." She begins to walk away as Jack, Carter and Daniel listen to the conversation intently.

"I wouldn't Jack, it's not worth the look you'll get." Oriana added noting his intent.

"General, if I may…" He started.

"No you may not! Take them back to the lock up, escort my granddaughter to the front door and for what it's worth, I'm ordering you to cooperate." He said sternly. "Thank you for coming in, I'm sorry that things aren't going the way you'd liked. Maybe I could be there when you finally pry it open? I can be the same amount of support as Doctor Jackson."

"It's okay, grandpa. I got this." She said sadly walking out with guards flanking both of her sides. "You don't need to walk me out boys; I have no intention of staying here." She said clutching her purse closely. She'd taken the torchwood file with her. The alien called the Doctor intrigued her and she wanted to do her research.

X*X*

Oriana arrived home and the emptiness of her house caused a void in her heart. It was sparsely decorated and there were very few signs that she lived there. She didn't have that magical touch her grandmother had had when decorating houses. Her walls were clinical white, the portraits that were up were placed in such a way that one might think she was OCD and the furniture hadn't been moved since she moved in. It was clean and apart from the shoes at the door it was a show house. When she bought it she told herself that she would make this her home, but she had few mementos from her house in Georgia and even less from the orphanage before that. The only things with character in this house were the old grandfather clock that didn't fit and the old tarnished silver locket that was currently sitting on the table.

"You've done it this time, Oriana. Coming home to an empty house to deal with emotional trauma, but that's for later. First this Doctor person." She said looking through the file showing a blue police box from the sixties and a man dressed in clothes that obviously stood out from the crowd. There were also pictures of different faces with the same name. "Interesting, and they call it regeneration?"

Regeneration.

"Silly, I wonder why they keep these records hidden from the SGC. There is a lot of information in here that makes me want to have a conversation with this man. Running around like he's the king of the world saving us without expecting anything in return. What's the catch?" She asked to the empty house.

Open

Oriana looked back at her locket and sighed. She'd been avoiding it.

Doctor. Master. Lena.

She'd been having the dreams more since Daniel brought up the locket. Maybe it was her subconscious telling her to open it. To stop being a coward. She didn't want to open it. She was afraid that there would be nothing and that she'd be alone forever. Her grandpa was all she had left what if knowing what was in the locket pushed him away. It was obvious that whoever gave it to her didn't want her anymore. So why should she care? She had a family that loved her, or rather at least her grandfather loved her. Her uncle had still refused to see her since her return. Maybe just a peak. Oriana snatched the locket and pried it open just a bit but it refused to close a golden swirl of lights rushing around her and into her mouth, nose and eyes. "No." She whimpered as her head started to pound painfully.

"Mother, please don't do this!" A small child begged as she looked between the grandfather clock and the child. "You promise!" The small girl stomped her foot in a way that reminded Oriana of something she did when she was first adopted.

"Who are you? Why are you calling me mother?" She asked, but it was obvious that she was only a spectator in this dream, was it a dream. "Where am I?"

"Remember, Kaiya. Remember everything that you wanted to forget." A beautiful man said pulling away from her. "You left us behind and it's time for you to remember us. Your husband, your daughter, your best friend. You didn't save them, you didn't even try." The voice added as Oriana felt herself being pulled in several different directions.

This time she was looking in the mirror. She was younger, she had brilliant red hair and it was straight as a pin, but not unattractively so. She was touching her face and smiling, but there were tears in her eyes and she was thrown backwards suddenly she was on the ground a mans hands around her neck. She was dying and thinking Regenerate.

What is this? Why do I feel like I know all these things? They're real.

Time Lady.

Do you remember now, Kaiya? Kaiyamaekofereddaorianamarie . Third Regeneration Time lady.

Not Human.

The phone ringing woke Oriana from her slumber. She'd fallen back when the energy in the locket had entered her system. How had this happened? She didn't remember regenerating before using the chameleon arch. Oh, she did. She was thinking of her daughter. Gallifrey was gone. Her daughter dead and she was grieving. She had been selfish to run and now she was alone. Her best friend dead. The last time lady. But she had just seen that the Doctor survived. Perhaps there were others. Perhaps he had saved them and kept them hidden from the world. Yes. That's what. "What!" She answered the phone angrily as it kept ringing. Her head was pounding enough without the addition of the annoyance that was a song her human-self had adored. No, this wouldn't do and would need to be changed as soon as possible.

"Oriana? Is everything okay? I was calling to tell you that everything worked out in the end and that I'd like to be there when you open your locket. I know you're mad about last night, but there is nothing wrong with needing a little moral support."

"Daniel," She sighed. How was she going to explain this to the humans. Surely someone knew that she wasn't human. "I need to go. I'll talk to you after. Thanks, but I've already opened it." She said hanging up quickly. She looked at the phone and dialed her grandfather's number. "How much do you know about my past, General Hammond?"

"Enough to know that you've opened your locket too soon. When I was visited I was told that you wouldn't open your locket until after being injured on an away mission. I've been avoiding sending you away for that very reason. Apparently, Daniel Jackson said things to you that triggered your desire to open it."

"Too soon? I gave you a time line? It had to have been me right? Perhaps in a different regeneration with a different face?" She said hopefully. She would have to know if she'd been the one to travel back and warn him so that she would do so in the future. Funny thing crossing timelines.

"No, it wasn't you, but I'm not at liberty to tell you who it was. I'm sorry. Will you continue to work with us at the SGC or will you be leaving earth? I'll need to know to come up with some excuses."

Oriana contemplated and realized that leaving would accomplish nothing. She was established in this timeline and could maintain a human facade for a few more years until they realized she was aging much more slowly than natural for humans. "I'd like to stay, would you be making SG-1 aware of my situation or?"

"Jack O'Neill was already made aware, because of his relationship with you. It has come to my attention that you have an interesting relationship with Daniel and while I think it would be best that he remain unaware it is up to you. I'll have to alert medical because of your binary vascular system and your blood being, odd." General Hammond stated the tone of his voice was strong, but upset. He had lost his granddaughter and in her skin was a woman who had felt more pain than any human could bear without losing their minds.

"Yes, also I'm allergic to aspirin it wreaks havoc on my system. Thank you Gen…Grandpa." She corrected herself hanging up on the man. She had more important things to deal with. She remembered everything from all over her lives and then some, but from here she could tell her TARDIS was locked and the key was something she didn't remember putting away. Damn her for thinking it was a brilliant idea to lock it the human way.

X*X*

Oriana sat at her desk with her head in her hands. Her grandfather was in the middle of a conversation with the president and it seemed that she was being rented out. It wasn't that it bothered her to do things for the government, but they were still being kept in the dark about her linage. It was amusing that when SG-1 was informed things had been smoother then she'd expected. Except Daniel. He had been a bit angry at her for not telling him the moment she found out, but it wasn't a concern anymore. It had only been a few days and things were progressing unnaturally quickly. She was the top of her field, but being suggested to be part of the president's entourage was something she'd rather not do. This Saxon fellow seemed like bad news. His attitude and not reading things that were required of him. He seemed like an idiot to her. And these aliens he claimed to be coming through were myths. The boogeyman for little time lords and ladies. It threw up red flags, but she wasn't about to scream it from the mountains. After all, there were only a select few who knew what she was.

"Oriana, can you come in here a second?" General Hammond called out motioning for her to close the door as she walked in. "I tried to convince him to send Daniel, but it seems you are more qualified. The president is of course not aware of your situation, but it might be pertinent to share this with him."

"I will not be put under the microscope and studied like a lab rat, Gen—Grandfather. I think it would be best if I went. Something is off about this Saxon fellow. It'll give me a chance to figure things out. After all it's not like I can die if they get all violent." She said trying to lighten the mood. "When will he be leaving? I'll need to pack a bag and find comfortable shoes. It's not every day you travel with the President of the United States to deal with First Contact. I wonder if they realize that this isn't really first contact. They want to go down in history for it, but they've been dealing with first contact situations for decades, maybe even longer if I know the Doctor. He had an obsession with Earth when I was telling him all the stories of my travels back in the day."

"You were a runner right? I don't know much about your species but they told me that there were some who ran away and never stopped running. Why haven't you run?"

"I was running from Gallifrey. I can't exactly run home now can I? I used to go home ever few trips. Once I was gone 100 years and hadn't even realized it. It passes so quickly that you don't even think. I didn't like traveling alone though. But Lena never wanted to come with me. She was the responsible one and I was the one everyone wished was gone. So many things they did to keep me from running that last time. I should have been there when it happened. I shouldn't have been roaming the galaxy without my husband. It was silly, a stupid fight." She said the last part soft and mostly to herself.

Ever since opening her necklace she'd left it on. She, of course, remembered where it came from now, but that didn't make up for what had happened. She was a widow and a motherless child. She wondered if when she finally opened her TARDIS her loom would be intact. If she could find a way to loom another child. Have another chance. To be a proper mother. The idea seemed like a fantasy, but she was sure there would be consequences. There were always consequences to everything she did. She could never win.

"I see, anyway, Oriana you'll need to leave in less then an hour. There really isn't time for you to pack anything. The President's staff is making sure you have everything you need on the Valiant. You'll be given your own room and be expected in the briefing room before the contact. You'll take Air Force One with the President as well. Who's about to land. Get moving."

X*X*

"Miss. Hammond, I'd like you to remain silent until talks of these aliens come into the conversation. You're here because you're one of the top of your field and because you've been to England before. I know you know about their 'secret' alien organization, but I've been told Torchwood will not be involved. In fact from what I've been told they've been sent away. I don't know anything else and I'd appreciate if you could find this information out by hacking their systems as soon as possible." The President said seriously.

"You want me to hack into Torchwood, legally? As in you're giving me permission to break our treaty with them?" She said in a hushed toned that made her want to roll her eyes. The act of being human was silly when they made such silly requests. She didn't need to know why Saxon had bothered her after she'd seen him. She'd recognized him the moment she'd seen him, perhaps it was because that's how time lords worked. Or perhaps it was because it was hard not to recognize the man who had murdered her on her first day of the academy.

"Mr. President, sir!" Saxon smiles greeting the man looking at his entourage spotting a young woman who was standing out from the crowd. "And whose this? Needing a little girl to keep you in line." He asked he could feel her, but he didn't understand. The doctor said they were the last and here was another one of them. Interesting how uniformed his old friend seemed to be.

"It's unimportant who I choose to travel with; Oriana is here because she's part of our program for first contact. However, First contact policy was decided by the Security Council in 1968. And you've just gone and ignored it." The president says motioning for Oriana to push back and stay out of site.

"Well you know what it's like New job, all that paperwork. I think it's down the back of the settee. I did have a quick look. I found a pen, a sweet, a bus ticket and uh…have you met the wife?"

"Mr. Saxon, I'm not sure what your game is but there are provisions at the United Nations to have you removed from office unless you are very, very careful. Is that understood? Are you even taking this seriously? To business. We've accessed your files on these Toclafane. First contact cannot take place on any sovereign soil. For that purpose, the aircraft carrier Valiant is en route. The rendezvous will take place there at 8:00am. You're trying my patience, sir."

"So America is completely in charge? Are you sure?" He says his eyes meeting with Oriana. If America was in charge did they not know they had an alien in their midst. Funny how ignorant people in power seemed to be.

"Since Britain elected an ass, yes. I'll see you onboard the Valiant." The President said turning to leave motioning for Oriana to follow him.

"It still will be televised, though, wont it? Because I promised, and the whole world is watching." Saxon added watching as Oriana shifted on her feet. He was amused at what he was sure was her internal struggle. She didn't know whether to run to him or to run away from him. They'd never have a good past, but she hadn't seen another Time Lord since she'd opened her watch. She hadn't felt another one either. She knew the Doctor was live, but she wasn't sure where he was. He most certainly wasn't on earth if he was allowing the Master to have a field day with its people.

"Since it's too late to pull out, the world will be watching. Me." He said walking away to the waiting car. Oriana lingered and walked to Saxon in a professional manner. "Master," She whispered her eyes meeting his in a glare. "I think you should stop whatever game you're playing at. It's not nice to mess with a civilization that hasn't had the chance to reach its full potential yet!"

"That's the last president of America, little sister, we have a private plane ready and waiting. We should reach the valiant within the hour, will you be joining us? Or will you be riding with them? Since they seem to think you're human. Funny, talking about first contact not being able to happen on sovereign soil and he's already had a run in with two." He teased turning his back on her. Oriana glared at him as she started walking away from him. "No, you don't get to do that." The master laughed pulling a gun and aiming and piercing her left lung.

Oriana fell to the ground like a crumpled bird her hands moving and gripping her side. "Why?" She felt tears in her eyes as she started to bleed out onto the pavement. "Please." She's crying and in pain. She's thinking of regenerating. She's thinking of her brother, she's thinking of her best friend, of the first time she regenerated. Of her beautiful red hair and of the life she led before her brother killed her the first time. Why was he killing her again? Why did he hate her? She was angry, she was so angry. She was regenerating, or rather she was glowing a bit brighter than expected, but the pain caused her to pass out. The world goes black and the last thought on her mind was her first death.

Oriana didn't notice them thanks to the Doctors perception filter, but Jack, Martha and the Doctor saw her. "I know her." Jack said softly. "She spent four years in Cardiff trying to convince me to let her be part of Torchwood. Evie was her only friend when she lived there. Or at least that was the impression I had with the amount of time she spent at the pub. She looks like she's regenerating Doctor. How is that even possible? She's human." He added not realizing the weight of his words on the Doctor.

The Doctor looked at the girl as the moved closer to her. "What's her name?" He asked moving closer to her. He could see that this was to be a drastic regeneration and felt pity for the girl. He had recognized her of course, when the Master had turned his attention to her. How could he not, the girl had followed him around like a lost puppy whenever his sister had her back turned. Funny how things happen. Here she was, alone. Being killed by the same man who'd killed her all those centuries ago.

"Her name is Oriana, she's," Jack was confused, "Why is she regenerating, Doctor? You said you were the last one, then we found Evie's a time lady, then there was Saxon, whose really the Master and now they're Oriana, but she doesn't seem like a time lady. I mean she was really smart and I had to steal her thesis because she managed to hide it from Tosh's computer program, but that isn't all that special when you compare her to Evie or yourself." Jack said looking at Martha who was still confused on the concept of regeneration.

"Oriana, you're sure that's her name?" The Doctor asked pushing Martha away as Oriana's regeneration energy started to explode outward. "I knew her by a different name, but in any case we need to get to the Valiant."

"You want to bring her with us? She doesn't have a key and do you really think it wise. He just killed her don't you have a specific number of regenerations and should we risk that he's going to kill her again?" Jack asked moving to help the unconscious girl anyway.

"This has happened before, and she'll be angrier if we leave her behind. And if the last time it happened is anything to go by I'm convinced this time she'll regenerate a sociopath."

"I heard that, Doctor. And really do you have to remind me of the last time….wait hair…what color is my hair?"

"Why does she care what color her hair is? I mean really she's a Ginger what's that matter when the world is being conquered by a madman with your flying box! And my family is being dragged into the middle of a warzone!" Martha yelled at the Doctor as Oriana stood up on her own and started touching herself.

"Straight or curly, and don't rain on my parade human. What is it with you and your desire to keep the company of humans who are so idiotic as to think the universe revolves around them?" She says petting her own hair, "Wait a minute…where's your sister? Where's Lena? Did you save her? I swear on my TARDIS if you didn't….where's my baby….my daughter? Did you save her too?"

"Kaiya, they're all gone. Gallifrey's gone, but you were already a time lady before regeneration you knew that, what's wrong…"

"You wouldn't let her die and she wouldn't have let my family die. Where are they? Doctor where are th…." Her words lost focus as the world started to spin and she fell into Jack. Who had been at a loss for words during the entire exchange.

"Doctor?" Jack asked as he lifted the girl and cradled her gently. "If she's a time lady, will she know Evie?"

"It's a long story, her regeneration was drastic, it'll be different for everyone, but when it's so drastic there are complications. It's more complicated when you've been murdered twice, and lost everyone you love. The last time she regenerated like that she became cold and calculating. She hardly felt anything and it was hard to get her out of her shell. She never stopped running. She almost got me to run, before my time. My sister, they had a falling out before the destruction of Gallifrey. I don't know if she escaped and I don't have the heart to tell her that she's gone. Her only link to having a conscience. If we tell her that's gone, she'll be like her brother and be out for revenge. It would be worse than the Master's worst day. I don't know if Evie will have known her, or she she'll have known Evie. It depends on their ages really. Kaiya was four hundred years old the last time I asked her, but that was centuries ago for me." He moved closer pulling Martha and Jack closer together and working on the vortex manipulator. "Hold tight." He said as the disappeared and reappeared in the Valiant.

"Oh that thing is rough!" Martha groans.

"I've had worse nights." He winked cracking his neck "Welcome to the Valiant."

"It's dawn. Hold on, I thought this was a ship Where's the sea? Is she not awake after that? I thought that trip could have woken the dead." Martha groans walking and looking through the port hole.

"A ship for the 21st century. Protecting the skies of the planet Earth." Jack adds pushing her forward gently as Oriana begins to groan grabbing her head. "Good Morning sleepy head, welcome to the Valiant." He said placing her on his feet. "It would have been nice if you told me you were an alien before I destroyed your thesis."

"Does it make it better if I told you I didn't know I was an alien when we had that conversation?" Oriana said as she cracked her own neck and rolled her shoulders. "Sorry about that, Martha? Doctor's Companion? This is new? I thought you were traveling with Susan? Have I missed that much? Anyway, what did my brother do now?"

"Brother? He's your brother I thought that it was some weird coincidence that he called you sister." Jack said rubbing his head.

"Wait do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Jack asked looking at the doctor weirdly.

"I hear it." Oriana said giggling slightly at the Doctors reactions.

"Doctor my family's on board!"

"Brilliant! This way!" The doctor said looking at the TARDIS happily. "Oh, at last."

"Oh, yes!" Martha adds looking happily at the TARDIS.

"What's it doing on the Valiant?" Jack asked as the opened the doors.

"What did you do to it? Doctor, you steal a TARDIS and then you do this…I mean really this!" Oriana says her eyes wide as she looks around the TARDIS bathed in red.

"Don't touch it, and I didn't do it Kaiya your brother did."

"What's he done though? Sounds like it's sick…"

"She is sick…" Oriana whispered looking at the doctor.

"It can't be. No, no, no, no, no, no, it can't be." The Doctor cried out "He's cannibalized the TARDIS. My TARDIS! MINE!"

"Is that what I think it is?" Jack asked looking between Oriana and the Doctor.

"It's a paradox machine." The Doctor and Oriana answered in unison. "He was talking to me Kaiya."

"I go by Oriana now. You'll confuse the humans who knew me as….wait Jack is Evie with you? I don't want her to know I'm not human and then we'll have to change my name and that'll be a big ol' mess when it comes to my brother. He has a tendency of calling me Oriana when he's trying to piss me off, but I don't think it matters really. Not anymore at least."

"Evie's on earth, wait you're supposed to be sociopathic, why do you care about a human?" The Doctor asked looking at her oddly.

"Only friend since Lena? I cared about Lena after I regenerated last time, and you didn't say anything about where Lena is…"

"Ka…Oriana now isn't the time to discuss this. As soon as this hits red, it activates. At this speed, it'll trigger at two minutes past 8:00" The doctor said looking at his TARDIS longingly.

"First contact is at 8:00 and then two minutes later…."

"What's it for? What's a paradox machine do?"

"Doctor, really can't you chose smarter companions? Susan was a doll and could at least keep up with the linguistics. I mean obviously you must know what a paradox is? No? Well just in case, a paradox is A seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition that when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded or true….this machine will allow a paradox to exist without ripping the fabric of time, or without time collapsing in on itself. The question is what is he up to…"

"The more important question is can two brilliant minds such as yourselves stop it?"

"Not until I know what it's doing. She," he pointed to Oriana, "Is not touching this until I know for a fact she's not thinking of revenge first. Further more, touch the wrong bit and blow up the solar system."

"Then we've got to get to the master."

"Yeah. How do we stop him?"

"Oh, I've got a way. Sorry didn't I tell you?" The doctor asks as he grins from ear to ear.

Oriana looks at him cautiously as the follow the Doctor entering the room as the President is giving his speech. "He knows we're here. Though you having a perception filter sure is nice when the rest of us don't" she muttered as she stood there trying to blend in.

"This plan, you going to tell us?"

"If I can get this," he hold up the key to show them, "around the Master's neck…cancel out his perception, they'll see him for real. It's just hard to go unnoticed with everyone on red alert. If they stop me, well you've got a key."

"Yes, Sir."

"I'll get him." Martha adds looking around nervously.

As the president is finishing his speech welcoming the Toclafane Oriana can already see this going badly. She looks away as the other see the President slaughtered. "Guards!"

"Nobody move! Nobody move!" The guard says his gun trained on the people.

"Now then, peoples of the Earth, please attend carefully!" Oriana watches as the Doctor rushes forward and fails. "We meet at last, Doctor. Oh, ho! I love saying that!"

"Stop this! Stop it now!" The doctor begs.

"As if a perception filter's going to work on me. Oh, and look, it's the girlie and the freak. I can't tell the difference between the girlie and freak and, Laser screwdriver, who'd have sonic. And the good thing is, he's not dead for long. I get to kill him again!" The master says lasering Jack and watching as Martha falls next to him. "But that's not even the fun bit. That's my sister there, trying to pretend that now that she's regenerated I wouldn't recognize her. Silly, Oh, do excuse me, little bit of personal business, back in a minute." He sighs moving closer to his sister observing both her and the doctor. "I knew you'd regenerate, but who knew you'd be so pretty. Ginger again when was the last time your hair was that red, I think it was the first time I met you. So desperate for your brothers attention. You just wanted a family. Father wasn't enough for you and you thought, well I have a brother at the academy of course he'll love me, everyone else loves me. Weren't you jealous of Theta and his little sister? How easily they got along? How often you got left out because you weren't good enough? But they never had the heart to tell you that. Not even when you were pining after the doctor like a love sick puppy. I liked it better when it was straight and black, how's my niece? Or did you let her die like he let the rest of our race die? Did you even think of them?" He moved closer to his sister. He'd managed to break through the anger that had been penting up since he'd killed her hours before. "Guard, make her comfortable. I'd be remiss to not allow her the same luxuries as my wife. Make sure it's the room next door I don't want her getting any allusions that she's a guest. I just don't need her for my entertainment at this moment."

The first few days were the worst. The Master had cut her off from everything. Regeneration was hard enough alone trying to discover who you were, again, but when you knew that the people you cared about, or thought you cared about because her thoughts of General Hammond, Jack O'Neill and Daniel Jackson were a bit warped at the moment and she wasn't sure if she was up or down with the idea that maybe Samantha Carter was just trying to help and she really was being a spoiled brat. Too many thoughts were going through her head and his closing remarks about her family. Her daughter. Her husband. Their father. It made her wonder if running had ever been worth it. She was sure that the running started because he'd killed her and she'd never have been as inspired as Lena if he hadn't killed her. It didn't matter now, she had run for so long and none of it felt like it was worth it, but she didn't think she could settle down. Not when she could see the world, the universe and not have to worry about the consequences. She could pretend that there were none.

But her regeneration brought back her self-conscious desire to be as beautiful as she thought she was as a child. So far she liked her hair; it wasn't as curly as her second face, but not as straight as her last regeneration. It was as red as it was the day she was loomed which was a nice touch to the road not traveled but her personality was touch and go. Sometimes she thought this was her random thoughts and serious actions, but then she'd break into a random dance when listening to the music coming from the room where the Doctor was being kept. Sometimes Jack's screams scared her and other times they made her curious. She remembered not giving a shit, but then she remembered when she cared about everything. She wondered if this was the consequences of so many stray thoughts, but then she didn't care. It was like she was a bipolar person. One minute she wanted to kill her brother and the next she just wanted to hug him. It was as if her first personality and the one where she enjoyed watching civilization burn clashed and were fighting for domination. It was moments like this that she missed Lena. Her Lena…her best friend would be so mad at her. She'd handled herself poorly. As she looked in the mirror she observed her eyes, and frowned. They didn't match. One was blue as sapphires and the other green as emeralds. It made her wonder if her indecision had led to this as well. She heard the door open and slammed down the small hand mirror.

"Are you going to behave, or do I have to have the big bad UNIT guards handcuff you? Who knows you might like that this time around. Did I tell you that you have guests? I forgot to tell you that because you didn't show up with the president they flew out the next best thing. The one and only Daniel Jackson. I've been trying to pump him for information about one little girl named Kaiya that might have worked with him, but the funny thing was that they didn't know any Kaiya's. How amusing that your chameleon arch decided to name you the one thing you hated more than me!"

"Really? Aren't we getting a bit older for this big brother? I'm almost five hundred years old and the last time I checked you've possibly gotten me beat. We could just sit down like civilized Time Lords and discuss the consequences of allowing a paradox. I'm sure you remember your lessons in school? Or do you think that because there are so few of us left that you can do whatever you please?"

"I feel like you have no right to lecture me, on what is considered mature since from what I heard after questioning on Daniel Jackson about your human self is that you were a bit of a trouble maker and then there was that story of how you manipulated them all after you return home after four years of being gone. You pretend to be someone else just so they don't 'judge' you. Spoiled brat much? Are these part of your daddy issues? Did daddy expect too much of you? Were you not everything that he wanted you to be?" The Master asked pulling her along and into the large room where Daniel was sitting his legs crossed and his head in his hands and the Doctor sitting there not moving just watching.

"What did you do to him!" Oriana asked pulling away from her brother and kneeling next to the Doctor's wheel chair. "How could you? He was your friend! You were in lust with his sister; he was still friends with you after everything you did to me! How could you treat him like this?"

"He's the reason our world is gone, Kaiya. I thought you'd be pleased I'd taken revenge on him. After all he is the man who time locked your husband and child! They're as good as dead. You'll never hold your little girl again, or bring here those presents I'm sure you've been hiding in her room in your TARDIS. Do you still have a room for Mara? Still stuffing things away even though you know she's gone? Have you even traveled since opening your lil locket? I know you have your TARDIS hidden away somewhere."

"Things are different now. And don't bring my family into this. You wanted nothing to do with them before you disappeared to the end of the universe so you don't get to have anything to do with them now!" She growled clenching her fists. "And I'd never let you see my baby, not after seeing what you did to the Doctor's TARDIS, knowing the laws how could you…knowing that you don't have a TARDIS and there are three of us left! You might have destroyed the only thing that would be your means of escape. It's obvious you lost Jack's bracelet or you'd be less bitter."

"Don't use psychology on me, little sister. Now come let us eat in peace." The Master said raising his eyebrow. It wasn't an invitation it was a do it or there would be consequences. He had lost his mind. She didn't remember him like this. Had her hero worship been so intense that she'd blocked her memories of him this way? Had he always been so insane? "Tell me, are you enjoying your room? I made sure that all the beautiful dresses I could find filled the closet and of course all the heels I could find. You always loved dresses and high heels after I killed you the first time. It was, after all, considered improper and anything improper for a time lady was perfect for Kaiya."

"My time in Gallifrey was nothing compared to the years I spent traveling. The earth is amazing in all of its time periods and you've have no right in trying to conquer it. Humans will always preserver. That's the part that's wonderful about them!" Oriana argued sitting down.

"You're ruining my mood, Oriana!" The Master glared motioning for the Jones' to bring forward the food that had been prepared. "Tell me, what is this I heard you went to university. I'm quite amused and can't help but wonder how long you've been out of your locket."

"A few days before the situation you started. And now here I am regenerated before even getting my bearings back. I suppose this is amusing to you, after all you take pleasure in the pain of others. Or are you finally tired of being cruel and just want to play house?" Oriana teased as she pushed the food around on the plate. She knew he wouldn't poison her, but her mind was everywhere but here. Regeneration was funny like that. The first time she'd just gotten up as if nothing had happened, but this time felt weird, wrong. Her body wasn't really accepting the fact that she'd regenerated and she'd used up all of her energy for that regeneration. There was no excess so if he killed her again, she would regenerate or maybe she'd stop herself from regenerating. What was the point in living without family, without her best friend, with her brother being an evil manipulative bastard who would just kill her again and again on a whim until she ran out of regenerations? "Are you done? I'm not hungry and I'm not in the mood to sit here and play house with you."

"It's a pity you seem to think everything is about you, because it's not. In fact, everything on this ship is about me! What I want, how I want it, when I want it and where I want it! Take the Jones' for example. I want them here as servants and so they are here being my maids and making sure the freak doesn't die when I want to torture him. We can even go so far as to use you for an example. I wanted to make sure you couldn't run away from me when you saw me so I killed you. I knew the Doctor was there and he made sure you got here. It's easy to manipulate people in high stress situations. He should have left you on earth, but he couldn't some misplaced loyalty to you I suppose. Are you still in love with him? Or has that ship finally passed?" He continued jovially.

"Not that it's any of your concern, but that ship has quite literally sailed when he refused one little trip all those years ago. Lena didn't let him said I was ruining everything. That I'd destroy the perfect timelines she saw in her head. This doesn't look perfect to me. Being inspired means nothing if this is what you're 'perfect' future is. The Doctor traveling alone, my brother is a psychopath whose trying to go to war with the universe, me alone and unwanted, in a human body so that I could forget about my mistakes. The only people who loved me are dead and you'd think she'd have warned me about all this nonsense, but she didn't. No, instead she told me she had to protect his future. It's always about him. She didn't want to travel with me because of him, because of Susan. They had more of a right to keep her back than I had to want her to travel with me. She promised. She swore we'd see the universe together, but instead I saw it alone. I aged alone. Do you know what it's like to be four hundred years older than your best friend, but not looking a day over twenty? Do you know what it's like to have to leave her behind with all your presents and none of them entice her? I tried to stay with her and it worked for a little but I got antsy. I ran into you. We had a falling out because of him." She pointed to the Doctor her temper was getting the better of her. Apparently this regeneration was bipolar, or at least she had a problem with her temper. She'd have to find out what triggers the tirades or people wouldn't want to be around her. SG-1 in particular wouldn't appreciate her back talk and frustrations being taken out on them and she wasn't in a position to loose people who cared about her. Not when she had no one left.

"Now we're getting somewhere! Let it out, little sister! Let's here why you hate the Doctor, why you hate his sister and how you're turning into me! Oh, how I love to see you this way! Why hadn't you regenerated like this before I might have liked you more back at the Academy? I might not have killed you that second time, but then again Doctor Jackson says that you were a bit of a brat a few years back." The Master laughed out spinning in his chair. It was obvious to everyone in the room that his brand of torture was the road not traveled for the time lady. It also meant that Oriana would get months of free therapy and perhaps walk away a better person.

"Are you finished? I believe I'm quite done airing our dirty laundry to a room full of strangers." She said in a bored voice knowing it would end the conversation. She was still angry, but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of continuing her tirade. She didn't hate the Doctor, nor did she resent him for his sister's affections, but moments like these where she let it out she realized it might seem like she did. In reality she was jealous of their relationship, but she'd never ever let that get in the way of her friendship with Lena. Lena was her only friend for so long that she didn't know what it was like to make friends with other time lords. Yes she'd made friends with a Gallifriean girl once upon a time, but it had been more of a business transaction. She brought things from Earth, things that a proper time lord or lady wouldn't approve of and the Gallifriean girl would sell them and give her parts of the profit. She'd then invest in Earth. It's why she knew she'd be fine money wise if she decided to leave her job, but that wasn't something that was important and her mind drifting there to keep her from t" The insanity she was sure her brother was trying to cause wasn't helping her chances of survival.

"You're boring me." The Master said practically pouting as he motioned for the unit guards to take her back to her room. "Take the boy genius with you as well, he's no fun to me without her around anyway. Maybe she'll be more fun when she comes back."

Time was passing slowly for Oriana and Daniel. Because of the situation she was forced to reveal everything to a very angry Daniel Jackson. Yes, she'd told him what she was and how old she was, but the little things, like the fact she was married with a kid, seemed to upset him the most. How could someone who looked so young be so old on the inside? Oriana knew the answer to that, but that was because it was who she was.

Literally she'd always been this person, no matter the regeneration who had a need to run and run and run and there was nothing anyone could do to stop her. Her father didn't stop her when he allowed her to wed the man she loved, a man she had run with for years before agreeing to settle, but the settling didn't last long it wasn't until they loomed a child that Oriana had stayed still long enough to get antsy again. She hadn't told Lena that she was back when that had happened. She spent nearly eight years raising her daughter and avoiding leaving their country estate. Her father had granted them the largest house in hopes that they'd agree to loom another child. He'd already been given permission and it was decided that children were the best way to keep runners at bay. It didn't work of course, because the minute her daughter turned eight they dropped her off at the academy and Ori wanted to run. Her husband didn't. He was afraid that if they ran, even on one trip they'd get lost in the euphoria and forget to come back. That they'd forget birthdays and Christmas. Though Time Lords didn't really celebrate Christmas it was a tradition both of them had loved in their travels. They'd even made friends to spend the holidays with. People that they'd take on a trip or two when they found the time. They were always careful of course to bring them back an hour or two after they'd left. It was no good messing with the lives of humans. They deserved to see the stars, but that didn't mean they had to lose their human lives for it.

As time passed Ori found little things that brought her joy. She'd visit with Jack as often as possible to hear stories of their adventures at Torchwood. He promised that if they made it out of this she'd be allowed to see their base. Something about earning his trust and how he was sorry he'd left her out during her four years in Cardiff. Part of her was glad she hadn't been allowed. She imagined that any talk of the Doctor or time lords and ladies might have triggered her memory. Jack told her about Martha Jones and how she wasn't as bad as the day they'd met. He told her that it was her fault the Master opened the fob watch, but that she hadn't meant to do it. And then she watched him die over and over again, or she heard it. The more she go to know him the more it hurt her. He told her about Evie and how they were a couple now. That brought a smile to Oriana's face. Evie was happy, or she was before things had gone downhill. He told her that Evie was a time lady, but Oriana thought it was a joke. He told her after he'd woken up after one of the rougher deaths the Master had decided to inflict. She'd gotten hurt in that one and it made her want to strangle him.

Oriana couldn't believe how quickly and yet painfully slow time was passing. They'd had a routine that the Master followed without fail. Some might say it was his OCD, but when that day came everything changed. Oriana wouldn't be the favorite new toy anymore. They were sitting in the main room when it happened. The master came into the conference room and cooed for the Doctor, but Ori didn't need him to tell her who it was when she saw Evie. It was her best human friend, her only human friend if she really thought about it, but why was he so excited to show her off to the Doctor. "Doctor I have a little present for you."

Oriana watched as the Doctor shifted positions and crawled out of the tent. Part of her wanted to run to him and help him up, but the last time she'd done so there had been consequences of Daniel. His hand was still healing from the damage the Master inflicted. He'd broken the wrist in four places and all of his fingers. It wasn't something Oriana would forget nor was it something Daniel would likely forgive her for. The look on the Doctors face made Oriana wonder just what else they were keeping from her. She didn't like secrets and secrets that involed people she knew were a bit of a pet peeve apparently. She hadn't had much change in her day to day life and the consequence was still getting to know her new personality.

"You'll never believe who she is," The Master said moving away from Evie and practically dancing across the room with joy. A joy that was causing Oriana's hearts to pump faster and her stomach to cramp up nervously. "That locket of hers, she has her name engraved. Her full name. In Gallifreyan." He teased.

It was obvious to Oriana that he was enjoying this. Sure she'd seen the locket when she was human, but she couldn't help but wonder what was written on it now that she'd remember the writing. Why was the Master so excited about this news? There weren't any time lords or ladies that particularly liked the doctor and even less that the doctor liked. There was…her mind worked double time wondering if it was even possible but her lips whispered, "No." at the same time the doctor's words passed through his mouth. She concentrated on the hours she spent in the pub and on the locket and chain. She recognized the chain, but it couldn't be her. She wouldn't allow it to be her. Of all the times she wished her best friend dead this had to be the only one she really meant. If she was who she thought she was then the Master had everything he needed to destroy the Doctor and Jack. It also meant that she was vulnerable in more places than one Daniel had been the only chip that the Master could hold against her, but if that was Lena and if she was human she was a weakness that the master would enjoy exploiting on all of their behalves.

"Oh, yes!" The Master answered skipping around gleefully. "I read it. I saw it myself and you know what her name is? Maybe you know little sister?"

"Don't tell me," The Doctor answered trying to flinch away from the Master's glee and malice.

"Mara," He began and in those two syllables it looked as if the Doctor had given up as if his hearts were breaking, but he wasn't alone, in those two syllables and the words that followed The Master destroyed everything, "-trievaleenarheeangarzaleea"

Oriana felt like she wanted to scream. Every bone in her body and every feeling in her gut was angry and it she was sure her face was showing it. She was ready to black out and she missed everything that happened after. This was her best friend. This was the person she'd spent years begging to come to Earth and here she was human. They'd been human friends. That made her smile, but she wouldn't recognize her now. She looked nothing like her human self. She doubted her accent was the same, at first it had been American, but now she was convinced she sounded as if she grew up in Cardiff. She wondered if that was a coincidence or if it was because she regenerated in an air field in Cardiff.

She was snapped out of her thoughts by the Master's voice, "I think the freak would be pleased to see you! Maybe he could die of heartbreak, and pop back to life at the end. Wouldn't that be fun?" He asked chuckling at his joke. "I suppose you should come to. It might be amusing for him to put two plus two together. Unless of course you want a repeat of Doctor Jackson's hand? Has he forgiven you yet? Or are you another friend short? Oh that's right she doesn't remember you this will be fun!" The master added leading both Oriana and Evie into the bowels of the Valiant a trip that Oriana had made several times in the last four months.

Four lonely monotonous months.

When they finally reached the room where the Master kept Jack chained up for his entertainment, he'd really need to see a shrink when he regenerated or at least admit to having a fetish, the look on Evie's face nearly broke her heart. If she could have protected Evie from this she would have. She can't even help her, because she doesn't look like Oriana. She wouldn't trust her and she most certainly wasn't going to befriend the sister of the man who was torturing her lover.

"Evie." His voice was horse, but it was obvious to everyone in the room that this torture wouldn't change who he was. There was love there that made Oriana the tad bit jealous. It must be the 51st century hormones, or perhaps it was the fact that he was so in love with Evie that Oriana wondered what it was like to have a love as epic as theirs.

"Oh, look, he's missed you. Isn't that sweet of the little freak? Aparently you've not been enough company, Oriana." The master asked shoving Evie forward and leanging against the door that had already been shut. He leaned closer to Oriana and began to whisper to her, "Are you jealous? Does their love, or what is left of it make you wish you'd stayed behind and burned with Gallifrey? Does it make you think of the love your daughter had for you, or perhaps the love of your husband? You never did love him like this, it was a comfortable love of course, but it wasn't passionate."

His words were meant to be cruel and the cold tears running down her face at the scene and commentary by the Master were indications that he was winning. It pained her to believe that he had so much to hurt her with. How could someone who avoided her at all costs know every single weakness in her? She had worshiped him and he was throwing it all in her face. How had this happened? When did he find the time to dig up these old memories? Had he found her TARDIS, no that was impossible, because she knew where it was she just couldn't open the damn thing. If she could perhaps she could save everyone. She could rally the troops. Help this Martha Jones end the Masters rule.

It was only a moment later that the Master was pulling Evie from the room leaving Oriana in his wake to stare at Jack's broken features. "I'll keep her safe." She whispered wondering where he'd be keeping her. It wasn't a surprise that Oriana had been left behind. He was too excited by the prospect of having Evie in the area to care much about anything else. So much of his time at the Academy had been lusting after the girl so now it seemed to make sense to her. Perhaps now she'd have a moment of peace, not that she'd want it. She wondered if Evie was contemplating opening her locket. It was obvious that she was aware of what it was and that she knew everything that there was to know about except who she was. She didn't understand the name which means that while she'd probably met the Doctor he hadn't told her he could read it. Perhaps he had suspected it, but nothing was said. Her mind went and drifted to her own room. Daniel had become a permanent resident, but they'd been forced to share the small bed. At first Daniel had insisted that he take the floor, but after two days of the cold ground and the possibility of him catching his death Oriana forced him onto the bed where he's been ever since. It was interesting the way people bonded in a place like this. The Jones' were kind to here even if Martha's sister was suspicious of her. It didn't surprise her of course. The UNIT soldiers had been kind, but still followed their orders to a T. She wondered what would become of her now. She was useless and he found no entertainment since she didn't give into his childish ploys. She'd learned from her mistakes and for the last few months taken his verbal attacks silently. She had her tirades in her head and denied him the satisfaction.

X*X*

Months passed before Oriana saw Evie again. This time things did not go as well. Because of The Masters plans Oriana had been kept away from where Jack was being held. It wouldn't do for her to be playing with his toys and she was after all a threat as a time lady. There were no Soliders in the conference room that day. Just the Master in his chair and Oriana with one hand handcuffed to the chair she was occupying. It wouldn't do for her to be able to get away when there was no one else around. He was much too smart for her to be allowed these freedoms. After all she was sure he was trying to remind her that she was a prisoner and not there as a guest.

"It took you long enough," The Master commented leaning back in his chair calmly, "Figured you'd try something when I told you. But two whole months? I thought you'd be just as passionate as when you were in school." He turned his face to Oriana momentarily, "maybe even as passionate as you and your desire to have a TARDIS. I'm slightly disappointed."

"A good plan is better than none." Evie answered. "Maybe I'vej ust grown up. I've been human for a while after all."

Oriana could tell that she was wishing she knew more about the Master and Oriana wished she could tell her that she didn't. She wished Evie could remain oblivious to the history she shared with him, but that seemed to be a distant thought when his face contorted slightly. Oriana knew what that face meant, and mischief for Evie was trouble for them all. She hadn't grown up at all. She'd always been the same calm cool head planning everything before making decisions, but the passion she once had wasn't as pronounced in her human self. She wondered if it was dampened by the fact that as a human she wasn't inspired. She didn't see time lines. Oriana had problems looking at Jack as a time lady, but she imagined that it would be nothing compared to what Evie would see. Being inspired was a gift, but she imagined that when you were in love with a fixed point it was more of a curse.

"Yes, I've been thinking. We should change that," And before that last words left his mouth the Master had his laser screwdriver pointed straight at Evie's heart. "Open it." He said in a tone that suggested that it wasn't a request.

"Master, please." Oriana begged working on getting the handcuff off to hopefully step infront of Evie before the Master fired his shot.

"Silence!" He said glaring at her, but his screwdriver never leaving its place, "I said open it!" He repeated springing from his chair and approaching her, the screwdriver still aimed at her heart. Eventually he'd moved close enough that it was pressed to her chest. "If you open it you won't die even if I do shoot you. Wouldn't that be nice?"

"No, not really." Evie replied causally. The tone frightened Oriana. The look on Jack's face told her that she'd promised and that he was afirad. She wished she could know what was going on in her brilliant mind. She didn't want a dead friend, but perhaps it was a better life, she couldn't believe that those thoughts were even passing through her head. After all Evie had done for her as both a human and a timelady. She noticed that Evie was lifting the locket slowly as if it would break. She had held it like this the last time they'd been standing in the conference room, but this time she opened it.

For Oriana it was anti-climactic, but she assumed for Jack and the others in the room it was beautiful. She knew it was painful and once she escaped her bondage tried to move closer, but decided against it instead just standing there observing the bright golden glow that had tormented her so many times. The pain she remembered from months ago opening her own fob watch. She wondered what thoughts and memories had first entered her brain. She doubted, with the state they left their relationship, that she was in any of those memories. The Master's voice broke through the silence.

"So, Evie do you remember me?"

"That I've hated you from the moment I met you? Evie aske closing the locket angrily and pulling it over her head, "Or that you had a thing for me when I was eight? Yeah. I remember."

Oriana looked down defeated. She didn't know if she should approach her or make herself more visible. This wasn't about her, but she wanted it to be. The silence was awkward and Jacks laughs ended it.

"Lena…" She whispered wondering if she'd heard her but to afraid to say anything else.

"Ah, that's the Mara I remember!" The Doctor said from his little tent. "Spirited enough to sneak into both my trials and yell at me for becoming president."

"Oh, yeah I remember that! You were trying to see their faces. What a stupid reason to accept the position as president!" Evie laughed ignoring the Master for now. As long as he had no access to the door he was virtually powerless. It was something Evie was taking good pleasure in exploiting that. "Hello, Kaiya." She answered nodding her head at her and nothing more.

"Good-bye Evie," The doctor said with a smile as blue-white lights surround here and she disappeared off of the Valiant.

"Really? You couldn't give me a moment! I mean I thought she was dead or that she hated me and she at least acknowledges me and you go and send her away. She'd have figured something out she's brilliant and amazing and we don't even measure up!" Oriana growled angrily.

"She comes first, Kaiya." The Doctor said his smile fading a little. "It's not all about you."

X*X*

"Citizens of Earth, Rejoice and observe!" The Master says cockily as the doors to the conference room open and two guards escort Martha Jones.

The room is full with everyone Martha cares for. To one side she has her parents and on the other side Jack. Perched on the edge of the railings is Oriana finally allowed to wear jeans but flanked by a guard on each side. In his cage sat the Doctor. Oriana has missed this transformation. She assumed it was because the Master was angry at her for stealing Evie's attention all those months back. But it'd been a year now. A year since her regeneration. A year on the Valiant and a Year since the Master took control of everything. She wanted the paradox to cease to exist, but she doubted that was possible anymore. Too much had happened. The TARDIS canablized and the doctor practically incapacitated and her kept out of the loop. She was no use to any of them.

"Your teleport device. In case you thought I'd forgotten. And now….knee;. Down below, the fleet Is ready to launch. Two hundred thousand ships set to burn across the univers. Are we ready?" He asks happily. This was his moment of success. Nothing would stand in his way. His greatest threat was reduced to nothing and there was no chance that Evie could have done much without her own TARDIS. The thought of this being the end of everything broke Oriana more than the thought of Evie's anger. If he succeeded which after the countdown was eminent she'd likely never see Evie, General Hammond, Jack O'Neill or any of the SGC again. She didn't even know if they were alive.

"The fleet awaist your singnal. Rejoice!"

"Three minutes to align the black hole converters. Counting down! I never could resist a ticking clock. My children, are you ready?" The master called out to the spheres.

"We will fly and blaze and slice! We will fly and blaze and slice!" They echoed back.

"At zero, to make this day, the child, Martha Jones, will die. Ha, my first blood. Ha, any last words? No?" He looks back at the Doctor and smirks, "Such a disappointment this one. Day of old, Doctor, you had companions who could absorb the time vortex. This one's useless!" He turned his attention back to Martha. "Bow you head. And so it falls to me, the Master of all, to establish from this day, a new order of Time Lords! From this day forward…what? What's so funny?" The master asked at Martha's chuckling.

"A gun?" Martha said chuckling again.

"What about it?" The master asked glaring at her for ruining his speech.

"A gun in four parts?"

"Yes, and I destroyed it!" Said tha Master.

"A gun in four parts scattered across the world? I mean, come on. Did you really believe that?" She was still chuckling and it was putting Oriana on edge. Sure she knew that the Doctor didn't approve of violence. He never had really, but he'd do anything to dispose of the Master she failed to see the point.

"What do you mean?" Apparently she was not the only one confused.

"As if I would ask her to kill." The Doctor added watching the Master a glint in his eyes.

"Oh, well, it doesn't matter. I've got her exactly where I want her."

"But I knew what Professor Docherty would do. The Resistance knew about her son. That's why I came to find you. Know your enemy. I told her about the gun, so she'd get me here. At the right time."

"Oh, but you're still going to die!"

"Don't you wanna know what I was doing? Travelling the world?"

Oriana sure wanted to know why she had wasted her time traveling if it wasn't to find a way to end the masters reign. She'd gotten herself captured on purpose to what end. She wasn't putting two and two together and it was bothering her.

"Tell me."

"I told a story, that's all. No weapons, just words. I did just what the Doctor said. I went across the continents all on my own. And everywhere I went, I found the people, and I told them my story. He has saved your lives so many times, and you never even knew he was there. He never stops. He never stays. He never asks to be thanked. But I've seen him. I know him. I told them about the Doctor. I love him. And I told them to pass it on, to spread the word so that everyone would know about the Doctor." Martha said repeating her story with confidence.

"Faith and hope? Is that all?" The master asked dismissing the notions.

"No, 'cause I gave them an instruction. Just as the Doctor said." She answers standing up.

"Use the countdown." The doctor added watching the scene in front of him.

"I told them that if everyone thinks of one word, at one specific time—"

"Nothing will happen! Is that your weapon?! Prayer?!"

"Right across the world. One word, just one thought, at one moment… but with 15 satellites!" Martha said passionate about the plan.

"What!?" The Master said anxiousness seaping into his voice. Oriana standing them amused and confused at the same time. Her mind could process the plan, but decided she was much to amused in seeing her brother dethroned.

"The archangel network." Jack added. It was obvious that he wanted to put his two sense into the conversation.

"A telepathic field binding the whole human race together, with all of them, every single person on Earth, thinking the same thing at the same time. And that word…is Doctor." Martha said the Doctor's name with such belief that Oriana couldn't help but feel her faith in him restored as well. She was a woman who could talk and this was a trait that would get here everywhere in this world, or anywhere she chose to go.

"Stop it. No, no, no, no, you don't!" The Master whined.

"Doctor!" Jack called out his eyes closed thinking of the man Oriana was sure he'd hit on a time or two perhaps even kissed if Jack had his way.

"Doctor." Francine Jones said closing her eyes having faith in her daughters plan.

"Stop this! Stop this night now!" The Master called out as the screens showed people gathered in public places all of them saying Doctor.

Oriana watched as the scene unfolded around her. In the chaos she'd made her way to the main level and could see her brother from a distance. The Doctor had forgiven him. Jack was headed to the Pardox machine and before Oriana knew what was happening they were gone. The Doctor and the Master gone and Oriana standing there looking at the place they'd been standing. Before she knows what's happening the Doctor and Master are landing back on the Valiant.

"EVERYONE DOWN! Time is reverseing!" the Doctor calls as time rewinds. "The paradox is broken. We've reverted back, one year and one day. Two minutes past 8:00 in the morning" The doctor said happily. "We're the eye of the storm. They only one who'll ever know." The Doctor says.

Oriana watches as her brother tries to make a break for it but Jack stops him. She hears them call for his death. "No, please." Oriana begs. "he's the only family I have. He might be mad, but he's harmless now." Oriana pleads.

"That's not the solution." The Doctor agrees.

"Oh, I think so. Cause all those things; they still happened because of him. I saw them!" Francine says as Oriana moves in front of her brother.

"I wont let you kill him." Oriana moved in front of him. She hated her brother, but did not want him dead. There were so few of them left. So few time lords that even one as mad as her brother needed to be spared. Without them they'd cease to exist.

"Go on! Do it!" The master taunted. "You don't get to save me, little sister. You get to let the weight of my death weigh on your consciences for eternity, or until you've run out of regenerations. Every time you regenerate you'll think of me. How you couldn't save me."

"You're better then him Francine. You're my responsibility now. I can't trust your sister to keep you in line, when she can barely keep herself in line. The only safe place for him is the TARDIS."

"He's my brother! You don't get to make that choice!" Oriana argued.

"You mean you're just going to keep me? Kinky." The Master teased.  
>"If that's what I have to do. It's time to change. Maybe I've been wandering for too long. Now I'll have someone to care for." The Doctor added as he heard the shot ring out and saw as the Master staggered backwards. Oriana had moved forward to argue with the Doctor leaving him open for the killing.<p>

"NO!" Oriana screamed running back to him. Her eyes trained on the woman who shot him. She'd kill her. She'd make her regret this.

"There you go. I've got you. I've got you." The Doctor moves holding him in his arms pushing Oriana away.

"Always the women." The master tried to joke. Oriana looking at him through dears.

"I didn't see her." The doctor said sadly.

"Dying in your arms. Happy now?" The master asked his eyes fixed on his sister. "You wanted this and now you're wishing it hadn't happened. How silly and human of you."

"You're not dying, don't be stupid. It's only a bullet. Just regenerate."

"No."

"One little bullet. Come on." The Doctor Begged.

"I guess you don't know me so well. I refuse."

"Regenerate. Just regenerate. Please! Please! Just regenerate! Come on!" Oriana could tell that the Doctor was breaking. No matter what her brother had done they were still best friends. He was losing his best friend all over again.

"And spend the rest of my life imprisoned with you?"

"You've got to. Come on. It can't end like this. You and me, all the things we've done. Axons? Remember the Axons? And the Daleks? We're the only two left, there's no one else. Regenerate!" The doctor begged. "Think of your sister! You'll leave her alone in this world!"

"How about that? I win. Will it stop, Doctor? The drumming. Will it stop?" He whispers as he dies. Oriana stands there motionless. Her eyes fixed on the Doctor.

"How could you? This is all your fault! I'll never forgive you for this, Doctor. No matter how many times I regenerate I will always blame you for my brothers death! You should have let me do the talking. I could have begged him. He might have listened. But you're a selfish arrogant person who thinks himself a god. You are no god and we don't always need saving. He might not have been perfect but he's the only family I had left. You have your sister and she has her lover. They will always have eachother and who do I have? No one cares for poor little Kaiya. After all she was just the girl that was murdered before looking into the schism. She's just the little time lady who could never settle down to raise her own children. Who ran away from her responsibilities. Why does she deserve the only family she has left? She obviously didn't care before." Oriana screamed her eyes never leaving her brothers body.

"Kaiya." The Doctor chokes back moving to embrace her, but she moves further away from him. "I'm sorry."

X*X*

AN: So that's all for this chapter 15,000 words. I suppose this was to make up for my lack of writing over the semester. I didn't want to end it here, but the funeral pyre isn't all that important. So now you know Oriana/Kaiya is a time lady and the little sister of the Master. Again Evie belongs to Elizabeth. and the conversations with her in this chapter were taken from her chapter 17 : Year of Tragedies. I'll be working on where to go from here. I'm traveling for Christmas so I can't promise and update right away, but I'll try. Thank you for your patience and I hope ya'll continue to read Changes in Time.


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